Turning Time
by carsynmerrill
Summary: After the birth of Teddy, Remus finds a strange letter...From his son! After a prank-gone-wrong transports the Potter children and Victoire back to 1996, Teddy goes after them and finds that, even years apart, he can find a connection with the parents he never knew. RLNT TLVW.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hey there! On a recent trip to a place in which I had no internet, I needed a bit of entertainment and decided to put together this cliched little story. The Potters are in here as well, but this is mostly a story about Teddy and his parents. The rating's a bit high because of language and some intimate situations, but there's nothing intensely mature.

Oh and this story has already been written in its entirety, so there's no chance of me not finishing it unless there's no interest. Expect 16 chapters and around 60,000 words. So I hope you enjoy! Please review. That would make me so happy.

***If you want more Teddy from me, I also have a one-shot up called Under the Full Moon. (It's not in the same canon as this. I'm just far too interested in finding ways for Teddy to talk to his parents).

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Chapter 1

Remus waited anxiously on the couch in the Tonks' living room. He sat there, elbows resting on his knees, and then he stood and paced and then he sat there. He stood again as he heard another drawn out cry of pain coming from upstairs. It was torture just waiting there, unable to do anything, while Tonks was obviously in such pain. From what it sounded like, Remus assessed that childbirth was a bit like a very long transformation. He did not envy her.

It had all begun late in the afternoon when Tonks, who had been puttering around looking uncomfortable the whole day, had suddenly grabbed around her expansive middle and stifled a yelp of pain. Everything had progressed, then, sometimes quicker and sometimes slower than Remus had expected. Though he had dutifully done his reading on the topic, he found that the pages of books did the whole process no justice.

Luckily, Andromeda was there to guide her daughter up to the bedroom and talk her through it as Remus flooed right to the burrow for reinforcements in the form of Molly Weasley.

"Oh, how exciting!" the Weasley mother said as Remus appeared in her fireplace and choked out something akin to, 'Baby, now, what…' She immediately began to gather a few things, all the while telling a story about the births of one of her own children. It might've been the twins, but Remus wasn't listening. He only wanted to get back to Tonks to see how she that she was alright.

Together, they climbed the stairs of the Tonks house and entered the room where Tonks was positioned on the bed atop towels. She smiled at Remus as he entered, but she looked in pain and already there was a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"Hello, Molly," Tonks greeted, "Lovely of you to join the party." She grimaced and Remus dropped to his knees beside her.

"How are you doing?" he murmured, pushing the hair off of her forehead. It was her natural dark brown.

"Could be better," she said, "about to get worse, probably. Don't worry, Remus. I'm a tough cookie." She grinned at him and he kissed her forehead gently.

Those were some of the last kind words she had said to him before the contractions really began closer and closer together, and she was in even more pain.

"This is bloody horrible!" she cried and squeezed Remus's hand. "Why…Do people…do this…more than once?"

Molly gave her a knowing smile. "You'll find out soon, I'm sure, dear," she said.

"Well I'm not bloody well letting you anywhere near me again," Tonks muttered to Remus. She was breathing heavily and the muscles of her arms and face were tensed.

"Is there anything I can do?" Remus stood and looked between Andromeda and Molly somewhat desperately. "Really, please, can I do anything? Can we give her a potion or something to lessen the pain?"

"We've done what we can, Remus," Andromeda said. "Now she has to do the work."

Eventually, he had been kicked out because he was 'making all three of them nervous'. It was worse outside of the room where he couldn't see what was going on and could only wait through each cry of pain.

It seemed rather like it would never end. Remus could not tell how long it had been going on, but he wished it had been over and done with before it had started. Why childbirth had to be such a struggle was a mystery to him. He suddenly perked up as a cry shot through the air that was most definitely not from Tonks.

Remus let out a small sigh of relief. It was over. The baby had cried and that must've been good. Now all he had to do was make sure that Tonks was alright. He began to pace again as he waited for either Andromeda or Molly to open the door.

"Remus," Molly's voice called from the top of the stairs. She was beaming widely, her eyes bright. "Would you like to come meet your little baby?"

Remus nodded and walked up the stairs slowly, suddenly nervous about something entirely different. All of his former worries were beginning to come back to him. What if the baby wasn't healthy? What if it was like him? What if it grew up to resent him?

He paused in front of the door and took a deep breath before pushing it open. Andromeda was hurrying about the room, looking as though she had just been crying, as she tried to clean up the area. Remus averted his eyes from the bloody towels that were on a table across the room.

Andromeda smiled at him warmly as she caught sight of him and patted him on the shoulder. Remus nodded at her, but only had eyes for the woman sitting up on the bed. Tonks looked absolutely beautiful, he thought, though her hair was a tangled mess and the sweat was still on her forehead and neck. She looked both utterly exhausted and completely awake and the happiest he had ever seen her.

"Come here, darling," she said, smiling widely. Remus approached slowly, quietly. He eyed the carefully-wrapped bundle in her arms. A little pink fist emerged from between the fold of the white blanket and Remus's breath hitched. That was his child, there in her arms.

He sat down carefully beside Tonks. She was rocking the baby gently against her chest, an instinctive movement, as she looked down at the child with pure, complete love.

"Come meet your son," Tonks said. She tore her eyes away from the baby boy to look at Remus, watching his expression. Remus shifted more on the bed and he gazed into the bundle to see the little boy's red face. His eyes were shut and his tiny lips pouted. On his head there was a tuft of dark brown hair. The fist that had escaped from the warm wrappings waved in the air.

Remus reached towards him with a finger and touched him gently. His little fingers seemed impossibly tiny. His whole body seemed so very delicate, as if he would fall apart at any moment.

Seeing him hesitate, Tonks said, "It's alright. He's a robust little thing, no doubt." She stroked his cheek with the back of a finger and he made a little noise.

"He's so beautiful," Remus said, his voice filled with wonder. He didn't think he had ever seen anything so beautiful in his life. He seemed absolutely perfect. "Dora, darling, I love you so much." Remus leaned over to press a kiss to Tonks's temple. She leaned into his touch and hummed in appreciation, her eyes falling shut. When she opened them, she gazed into Remus's eyes and they kissed sweetly, the little child they had made nestled between them.

"Do you want to hold him?" Remus hesitated, afraid of hurting the new baby. The chap was hardly an hour old, after all, and Remus hadn't been around many babies. In fact, the last one he had seen was Harry. He, Sirius, and Peter had all hurried over together to see James and Lily's little baby boy. He had looked rather like Remus's son, all red with dark hair.

Remus nodded and held out his arms slightly. He and Tonks made the transfer carefully, and Remus realized that Tonks must've been a little afraid of dropping him like a teacup in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place. Remus positioned the little boy carefully in his arms so that his head was propped up by the crook of his elbow. He let out another infantile squeak and Remus could feel him kicking his legs.

As Remus looked down at him, he realized that something was off.

"Wasn't his hair darker?" Remus asked. "Or do they do that?" Tonks leaned over and they both examined their son's dark ginger hair for a long second.

"Mum?" asked Tonks. Andromeda hurried over. "Mum, is his hair supposed to change color that fast? I mean, I know some do get different-colored hair when they grow up, or their blue eyes fade…" Andromeda gazed down at her grandson affectionately and tickled him under his chin.

"I think he's like you, Dora," she said. Remus and Tonks looked at each other, their eyes wide. They started laughing together happily and the bundle squirmed in Remus's arms. Another fist poked out.

"Oh, get those hands back where it's warm," Tonks told their son, gently tucking him back in again. She rubbed his tummy and they watch with awe as his hair faded more to a sandy brown. Tonks beamed at him proudly. "Look at our little man!" she said. "What a talented boy."

"You were the same way," Andromeda said. "Ted and I thought we had done something wrong until we read up a bit." She shared a sad smile with her daughter. "Anyway, I should go down and see if Molly hasn't gotten lost looking for that old camera. And you two have a very important job." Tonks raised an eyebrow at her.

"Find my grandson a nice name!" she said with mock exasperation. She beamed at them both and then slipped out of the room, leaving Remus and Tonks alone with the new addition to their family.

Tonks leaned forward to capture Remus's lips and kissed him gently. "See," she said when she pulled away. "He's absolutely wonderful- ten fingers and ten toes and a metamorphmagus to boot!"

"Yes, I'm quite besotted, I think," Remus agreed. He rocked their little Lupin back and forth gently. "But your mother's right. We haven't named him yet."

"Ted," Tonks said without hesitation. "I want to name him after my dad…If that's alright with you." Remus kissed her on her head.

"That's absolutely perfect," he said. "Edward it is- and we can call him Teddy for now. What do you think?"

"That's adorable," Tonks grinned, "Edward Remus Lupin." Remus's eyes widened at her. "What? We have to honor his daddy as well. Plus, he looks like you."

"How can you tell already?" Remus asked.

"Just wait until he opens his eyes. They're yours exactly."

Andromeda came back upstairs with the camera, trailing Molly behind her, and they were both very pleased with the name Tonks had picked out. Andromeda instructed them to sit together more so they could all be in frame as she positioned the camera. A wide flash went off, awakening little Teddy Lupin, who had another chance to display his well-developed lungs.

"Wow," Remus breathed. He had passed Teddy back to his mother, who rocked him back into contented silence. "He's rather loud."

"Get used to it," Molly said. "You'll be hearing that all through the night for the first few months until he's old enough to sleep more than a couple hours at a time."

"Look, Remus," Tonks told him. "See, your eyes!" Teddy blinked up at him, his eyes the type of green that faded to a starburst of brown around the pupil. He couldn't deny that the similarity was rather strange and wonderful all at the same time. It was definitive proof that that boy, who seemed far too perfect, was really his son.

Teddy was passed around a little between Andromeda and Molly, who each crooned over him adoringly. He then found himself in Remus's arms once again and he placed the boy in the cot gently. Remus had put it together himself and he and Tonks had picked out the blankets (light green because they didn't know the baby's gender) and the mobile that swung overhead (a lovely mix of stuffed hippogriffs, unicorns, and phoenixes that moved on their own). Andromeda came over and took another picture of him. The picture fell out the bottom and developed instantly. His hair was growing darker again.

"We should tell people," Remus said as he stood up again. "A birth announcement might brighten spirits a little bit. Times have been so dark lately. Would you mind terribly if I went?" Remus glanced sidelong at their son, who was asleep peacefully again.

"I'll be fine here with mum and Molly," Tonks said with a smile. "Go; I know you want to brag about how handsome he is." Remus leaned over the bed to kiss Tonks deeply. His hands caressed her face.

"Get plenty of rest, Mrs. Lupin," Remus said. She pulled him in for another kiss.

"I will, Mr. Lupin. Say hi to everyone for me." Remus kissed her once more in goodbye, and then again. He couldn't seem to walk away.

"I'll be back soon," he promised, and got his cloak. Andromeda hugged him goodbye in what was the most obvious display of affection he had ever received from Mrs. Tonks. Remus thanked her and headed outside to apparate from the front stoop. His first stop would be Shell Cottage.

Remus was drunk with happiness; he downed another shot of firewhisky to add to his exuberant state. He had been pleasantly surprised to find the great crowd of people that were filling Bill and Fleur's little cottage by the sea- especially Harry Potter. After what had happened that afternoon in 12 Grimmauld Place what seemed like a lifetime ago, Remus knew he owed Harry for knocking some sense into him and driving him back to his wife.

There would be no one better, Remus knew, for the role of godfather to his child. Harry accepted and Remus downed just one more before returning heading out on his way. He would make one more stop.

The Potterwatch station consisted of a portable radio transmitter. All of the equipment was ready to move at any time. The whole station could move across the country each night for the next broadcast. Tonight, news from the resistance would be flying through the air waves straight from the attic of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

Remus ascended the stairs a little shakily from the mix of alcohol and apparition. He knocked on the door and Lee Jordan's voice called out.

"It's Romulus," Remus said, "Resident werewolf, husband of Nymphadora, better known as Tonks, and brand-new father." The door opened immediately and he was greeted by the grinning faces of Lee Jordan, the twins, and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Well come on in!" they chorused excitedly. Remus wasn't surprised as he was handed another shot glass and they all toasted to Teddy Remus Lupin.

"Great name," Fred said. "Kind of rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?"

"Excellent," George concurred. "I can really hear that." Fred hit him in the back of the head.

Remus arrived back at the Tonks's house with his hair windswept and his cheeks red from the celebratory shots he had shared first at shell cottage and then with his fellow radio broadcasters. Fred had even promised to slip the announcement into the program. Remus couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he opened the door. Andromeda and Molly were talking in the living room.

"Thank you for everything you've done, Molly," Remus said. Mrs. Weasley pulled Remus into a tight hug.

"Think nothing of it," she told him, patting his cheek. "I'd best be getting back to Arthur, though," she said. "I'll tell him the news, of course. You just go back to that beautiful family you have." She said her goodbyes to Andromeda and promised to pop by again soon before hurrying out the door and disappearing with a pop.

"Thank you, too," Remus told Andromeda. She looked at him long.

"I wasn't sure about you and my daughter," Andromeda said, "But I've never seen her so happy and that is a beautiful boy you have. I think I might've judged a little harshly."

"Not to worry," Remus said. "Your kindness was more than I would expect from anyone."

"Maybe, but we're family now," Andromeda said. "I want you to know that I'll stick by you." Humbled, Remus thanked her quietly before excusing himself to see Tonks. "Quietly," Andromeda warned. "She's taking a nap."

No matter how quietly he moved, however, she still woke as he slipped in and beckoned him to her side. They curled up together and Remus tapped his wand on the wireless, saying that night's password. They listened through the program for the little bit of happiness Remus knew would be there.

"And now, a bit of a brighter announcement in these dark times," Lee said.

"We are proud to congratulate the always wonderful- except when he's hairy- Remus Lupin and his lovely wife, known commonly as Tonks, for the birth of their son, Teddy, today. It's nice to know that there's still a bit of love in the world. That's all for tonight; tune in next time. The password is 'Teddy'. Goodnight!"

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Life with a newborn was tough in a different sort of way that, after so much worrying about the war, Remus welcomed. He provided the greatest distraction to all the worries of the outside world, if only for a little while. Teddy proved to be a rather docile child most of the time, but had a wail reminiscent of a banshee whenever he did get upset.

Remus eagerly took on the job of getting up in the night to answer those cries and change his diapers, only getting Tonks up if he needed a feed. He wanted her to be as rested as possible after all her hard work. Tonks, on the other hand, was ready to get back on her feet the next day, eager to spend as much time with Teddy as possible.

As the full moon approached, Remus began to get a little anxious about Teddy, but every time he got that look in his eyes, thinking about all the things that could go wrong, Tonks would rub his shoulders and kiss his cheek and tell him to 'Stop looking so morose. Nothing's going to go wrong.'

As the fateful night finally arrived, Remus kissed his family goodbye and made the journey to the burrow, where Arthur and Molly had offered up their basement very generously for his use. Andromeda, who was even more adept at potion-making than her daughter, had managed to concoct enough Wolfsbane for that cycle, which he had taken each night for the days preceding the full moon, and he would no doubt sleep it off without trouble.

Still, his mind was not at ease and, as the pains of the transformation wracked his body and broke his bones, he wondered about Teddy and Tonks and hoped that they were okay.

The night passed without complication and Remus was able to apparate back home, only slightly bruised. His eagerness to see his family overpowered his aching muscles and he rushed straight upstairs. Tonks was up, rocking Teddy. As she spotted him, she brightened but motioned that he should be very quiet. There were dark rings around her eyes and she looked like she hadn't slept.

"How is he?" Remus asked hesitantly as she placed him back in his crib. He looked sound asleep. His hair was deep purple.

"There was no change," Tonks said with a smile. Remus let out the breath that he was unconsciously holding. "But he did stay up all night. Nothing I could do would send him to sleep."

"Was he in pain, do you think?" Remus could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage. Tonks shook her head.

"He wasn't screaming," she said. "In fact, he was rather quiet. But he didn't go to sleep either until just now." She looked at him thoughtfully and shrugged. "I'll have to see what he does next time. Maybe this will turn out to be a quirk of his."

The next day, Tonks took the camera out again to capture more moments with Teddy. At a week old, he was livelier and began to show a bit of personality. Tonks snapped a picture as Remus burped him. The camera whirred and spit out the picture onto the floor.

"Do the changes in hair color mean anything right now?" Remus asked. Teddy's hair was turquoise, a color for which he seemed to express some favor for.

"I don't think he really knows what he's doing," Tonks said. "I didn't have full control over it until I was around eight. Just imagine me visiting my Muggle cousins. I had to wear a hat all the time and they thought I was so weird." Remus laughed and Teddy spit up. Tonks took him as Remus cleaned off the towel.

"What about changing facial features? Will he be able to do that?"

"Thankfully no, not right now," Tonks replied, bouncing Teddy. "That actually involves intention. Hair color is easier to do; sometimes it just reflects mood- like a chameleon or something. According to a study on Metamorphmagi, the chameleon was the most common patronus form found, actually. Of course, that study was done on a grand total of one Metamorphmagus in 1542, so I'm pretty sure it's not the least bit accurate."

Remus laughed as he sat on the couch and Tonks handed Teddy off to him again. The little boy blinked at him, their eyes mirror images of one another. Tonks clicked the camera, but nothing happened.

"Out of film already?" asked Remus. They switched- Tonks got Teddy and Remus fiddled with the camera. "We must have taken a thousand pictures already! And how old is he? Ten days old?"

Remus couldn't believe it, actually. It seemed like such a short time and already they had fallen into a routine. As Teddy still could only go about two hours at a time without alerting his parents to some sort of discomfort, both of them (and Andromeda as well) were basically dead on their feet, but Remus reveled in this weariness because, with Teddy around, there was always something to look forward to and keep him going.

"That's a true mile mark right there," Tonks grinned. "Be a dear and find some more please." Remus kissed first Tonks and then Teddy.

"For you," he said.

Truthfully, he had no idea where the film could be. He knew that Tonks had another camera that was brought from her old flat, though, so he set off to find the few boxes they had packed during their hurried and impromptu move. Sifting around in one that held a couple of Remus's spare things, he came across and a half-empty box of Best Magical Instant Film. Remus put it in his pocket, but was distracted by something else in the bottom of the box.

"What's this?" he murmured. At the bottom of the box sat a letter addressed to him and Tonks in unfamiliar rigid handwriting. He picked it up, sat back on his heels, and opened it.

_Dear Remus and Nymphadora Lupin_, he read.

_You do not remember, but we met in November of 1996. My name is Edward Remus Lupin (though everyone calls me Teddy) and I am your son._

Remus's brow furrowed and he read over the first line again and again. The words did not change. He looked around, as though expecting one of the twins to pop out and yell 'just kidding!' This was absurd; it was an impossible joke. Teddy wasn't even two weeks old. He immediately thought back to the Potterwatch announcement of Teddy's birth. But no, they hadn't given away his full name. And, anyway, how could anyone slip the letter in the bottom of a random box in their tightly-secured house? Remus decided to put up new protections after he finished reading the rest of the letter.

_Well, correction, I am your son in the future. Maybe you haven't had me yet, or maybe you have. When I met you, though, you and mum were hardly on speaking terms with each other. So, if you haven't gotten married yet, just know that that will be coming down the pike very soon. Anyway, I know this must be very difficult to believe. I suppose I should explain how I, your now twenty-four year old son, came to meet you, my pre-Teddy parents. It all started with James Potter II and a trip into his father's office…_

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**A/N:** Thanks for the read! Don't forget to review. The next chapter will be up soon and you'll get a look at the year 2022 with Teddy, Vic, and the Potters!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This is the year 2022 and the beginning of their stupid little adventure. I'll probably post every Friday unless I'm persuaded to continue the story sooner :)

Don't forget to review! I love me some reviews!

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Chapter 2

"Your parents would be so proud of you."

Teddy Lupin had wanted to be an Auror for as long as he could remember. When he was little, he would often run around with a stick in place of the real wand he yet lacked at the time and pretend to hustle up all the Death Eaters (who were played by disgruntled gnomes and the family owl). His fascination with his godfather, Harry, had gotten him interested in dark wizard catchers, but when he found out that his mother had been one too, his heart was immediately set on the career.

His seventh year seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Balancing dueling club with his Head Boy duties and studying for his NEWTs proved a difficult task, but Teddy pulled it off with aplomb and emerged at the end of the year tired but satisfied that he had given it his best effort.

After the last day of term, Teddy played a waiting game broken only by the usual family excursions and a trip to the Weird Sisters' Reunion Concert (thanks to the Weasley's thoughtful graduation gift to him) with Victoire, who had picked out the generous present. The very next morning, Teddy woke to a massive headache and an owl pecking at his window. Teddy could see that the letter it carried bore the red wax seal of Hogwarts.

His NEWT scores were greeted by a churning in his stomach that almost sent him running for the loo, but as it turned out, he had nothing to fear and he was able to fill out his application for Auror training that night.

"Your parents would be so proud of you," Teddy heard again as his acceptance letter arrived and was opened with shaking hands, an echo of the sentiments he'd always wanted to hear in the first person.

"Your parents would be so proud of you," he heard again as he was finally presented with his badge in a fashion that was certainly less than illustrious. And with a pat on the back, he was sent into the field to sit in a rainy field, waiting for a dark wizard that never actually arrived.

The pride of his parents had always been something that drove Teddy to greatness. He wanted to be a good student to please his parents. He wanted to be a good brother and cousin and friend and mentor and everything else he was to please his parents. It was funny that such thoughts consumed him so entirely every time he was faced with a decision for he couldn't really know what would please them, could he?

His only response to the numerous exclamations of his parents' pride was a simple, "I hope so," because that was really all he could do.

His choice of work was one thing he thought his parents would approve of. But, despite catching many dark wizards throughout the past three years in which he was actually a fully-fledged Auror, Teddy felt as if there was something missing from his work that he had desperately been hoping to find.

Teddy looked at the photograph that was pinned to the filing cabinet next to his desk. His mother waved at him, her arm slung around Mad-Eye Moody, who didn't seem to be amused in the slightest, and held out her band new Auror badge for all to see. He smiled sadly at the image and turned back to the report in front of him. He only had to finish that last report before he could pack up for the day.

Teddy bit the inside of his cheek as he concentrated on enumerating everything that had happened during the capture of the suspect he had been trying to find for the past month. He finished it off with a brief listing of all the methods of interrogation he had used upon incarcerating the suspect. He sat back to admire his work with a smile. He then opened a drawer and pulled out a file folder marked "Fischer Murder/Cursed Artifact Trafficking".

Teddy stacked the papers he had just been filling out and tapped the bottom edge on his desk. He then placed them carefully in a manila envelope and closed the clasp. He leaned back in his rolling chair, arms tucked under his head akimbo, to allow himself a moment to bask in the wonder of getting all of his paperwork filled out.

There was a light knock on the side of his cubicle.

"Look who's taking a break on the job!" Caspar Pontius leaned against the wall of Teddy's cubicle, grinning madly. "Maybe I should tell the higher-ups I've seen you slacking." Teddy snorted.

"What, and draw more attention to the toxic wasteland you call a desk?" Caspar feigned offense at that. "Actually," Teddy said, "I'm just about to head off for the day. I finished all my reports and my leave forms are already in."

"Lucky," Caspar said. "What're you going to do with the time off?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

Caspar and Teddy hadn't been in the same year at school, but they had gone through training together and had grown to be good friends. A couple years older than Teddy, Caspar worked on his grandfather's Blast-Ended Skrewt farm for a few years before he managed to 'escape' and move to London to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a badass Auror. They occasionally worked together, but Teddy's last case had him partnered with Dany De Angelis, a girl who'd joined a couple years after him.

"Vic and I are looking for a house, actually," Teddy said. "We saw a place last weekend that we both love, but she wants to make sure it's right by looking around a bit more. I'm hoping she won't be too picky and we can put an offer down for the first one soon."

"Things are getting serious then," Caspar said. "Can I be best man? I throw a killer party!" Teddy chuckled, but told him that they were not getting married any time soon. "Might as well marry the house," Caspar joked. He clapped Teddy on the shoulder. "Well, good luck then, mate."

Teddy stood and grabbed the envelope of forms. "Yeah, thanks," he said. "I'll be back in next week and we can go over that case you're working on."

After dropping the envelope off at Auror Aloysius Castleberry's desk, Teddy was free. He picked up his dark grey Auror robes and his moleskin briefcase and headed out through the main entrance, intending to take a walk. It was a beautiful summer day and he felt like getting some fresh air.

The walk to number 12 Grimmauld Place was long, but Teddy was in good spirits knowing that he wouldn't be seeing his cubicle in the Auror Office for a whole week and thinking about the purchase he would soon be making. He was extremely excited to be moving away from the realm of small, one-bedroom flats in buildings filled with an equal selection of old, kooky ladies and Muggle students who partied late into the night, blasting their horrific dance music.

Buying a house together would be a huge step for him and his longtime girlfriend Victoire Weasley, but they were definitely ready for it. Everything was falling together.

Teddy Lupin was no stranger to number 12 Grimmauld Place. After Harry had proposed to Ginny in the autumn of 2000, the young Auror and savior of wizards all over decided that it was time the place saw a deep clean and a new coat of paint. With the help of the Weasley's, Grimmauld Place was turned upside down and its old Dark past was brightened and turned into a beautiful modern home just in time for the newly-married couple to settle down there.

After all their hard work, the former Order of the Phoenix headquarters was completely unrecognizable. Even the screaming portrait of Sirius Black's mother had been taken down. Harry had had to call in three Ministry specialists, but it had finally lost the battle. Mrs. Black now occupied the attic and was the source of many a threatened punishment for any wrongdoings in the Potter house. ("Watch out, young man, or you'll be spending a nice night with Mrs. Black!" James Potter had been told many a time.)

As an honorary Potter and Harry's 'eldest son', Teddy could often be found in the Potter house. He lived with his grandmother in the countryside, but he stayed over with Harry on the occasional weekend and for a week or so over summer holiday. After school, he turned up for dinner there about three times a week on average, both because he enjoyed the company of Harry, Ginny, and their children and also because he found, living on his own for the first time, that cooking for himself was a strenuous and somewhat dangerous task.

At the current date, Harry and Ginny were attending a conference in Washington D.C. about defensive education in schools or something. Neither of them had really wanted to go, but they were invited by some very prestigious people in the American Ministry and could not refuse. The house was, therefore, under the supervision of their eldest son, James Sirius Potter.

"I'd appreciate it if you would look in from time to time," Harry had said to Teddy before he left to catch his portkey. Teddy had agreed knowing Harry and Ginny were a bit hesitant to leave so much responsibility to James.

"Thanks Ted." Harry had clapped him on the shoulder.

Teddy was going to make good on his promise, too, because he was somewhat doubtful in James's ability to keep things together. He wondered how the eighteen-year-old would ever cope in a flat of his own. More important than the house, however, Teddy wanted to make sure Albus and Lily were alright. They weren't little anymore, but he was still protective of them, especially Lily.

"Teddy!" Lily exclaimed as he opened the door to the house and stepped inside. He was greeted with a flying tackle hug from the red-haired teen. "I'm so glad you're here," she said as she released him. "James and Al are driving me absolutely mad." Teddy laughed.

"I'd be surprised if they weren't," he said. "Where are they anyway?" Lily shrugged.

"Al was doing something in the library and James just got back from a team workout. His head is getting bigger each day, I think. And he says he might start this season." She rolled her eyes.

Gryffindor Quidditch star James Potter had made it big during his final year of school. Scouts had signed him to the Falmouth Falcons after the first game of that year (Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, in which the latter lost gloriously), and he had been going to training sessions with both the starting team and reserves for the entirety of the summer so far. Teddy hadn't at all been surprised to hear James would be playing professionally. Quidditch was in his blood.

"Hey, Teddy," called the middle Potter. Albus emerged from the library with a book clasped in his hands. It looked like he had been doing his summer homework. "Are you staying long? Maybe we could go someplace for dinner and actually have something decent to eat."

"I though Ginny and Molly left a bunch of stuff in the refrigerator to heat up," Teddy said.

"Yeah," Lily said, "But there's a limit to the amount of casserole anyone can eat at a time." She smirked. "Plus I think Al just really wants to go out for dinner."

Teddy thought briefly. "I'm supposed to go house hunting with Victoire in a bit, but I'm sure we can do that," he said. "She's stopping by in a few minutes, too."

"Yes!" Albus said. "You're gold, Ted."

They sat down together in the living room to play a quick game of exploding snap as Teddy waited for Victoire to arrive. James soon joined them as well- hair wet from a shower- and began to recount all the great passes he had made during that day's scrimmage.

"And then Pole," James laughed, "reached out to catch the Quaffle and over-rotated and he nearly fell off his broom!" His face turned red as he laughed. Teddy met Lily's eyes and she made an annoyed face.

"He's been like this every single day," she muttered to him. Teddy gave her a sympathetic look and played another card.

"Oh," James said once his laughter subsided, "We all have to come up with something to do for Dad's birthday- a surprise of sorts. He is getting back on that oh-so-special day."

"Let's not involve gnomes like last time," Albus said immediately. "I think I still have the bite marks from that grand idea." James ignored him.

"It has to be really good," he said. "We have free range, after all. The possibilities are endless!" He threw himself on the couch and lay on his back to stare at the ceiling contemplatively.

There was a soft knock on the door. "That'd be Vic," Teddy said and he got up to answer it.

"Wotcher," he said as he opened the door. Victoire looked beautiful, her blonde hair done up in a messy bun with sunglasses perched on her head. Her eyes, which seemed to change color with the seasons, were grey-blue.

"Hey there," she answered. He stepped back to let her step inside and leaned down to kiss her hello.

"Teddy, stop snogging our cousin!" James called. Teddy rested his forehead against Victoire's and muttered a few choice words about his god brother while Victoire giggled. They walked back into the living room together.

"Yes, James, my favorite god brother, can I help you?" Teddy asked. James sat up.

"Yeah, actually," he said. "What do you think about rigging Dad's office to spew confetti and sing 'Happy Birthday' when he walks in? And I don't mean a mild confetti flurry. I mean a full-blown blizzard. He'll be finding confetti for weeks." James looked excited.

"I'm proud of you, James. That sounds rather tame," Teddy said.

"Yeah, I don't see anyone going to St. Mungo's this year," Albus said pointedly. That'd been him last year after a gnome bite got infected.

"What's going on?" Victoire asked.

"Annual birthday surprise from James to Harry," Teddy explained.

The annual birthday surprise was a tradition that stemmed from Harry's twenty-eighth birthday when James gave his father a box filled with decorative tissue paper and rocks. He had been four at the time and so the prank was rather lame, but they had gotten better over the years and, as soon as Teddy turned seventeen, James had enlisted his help in creating increasingly elaborate tricks. Last year, James and Albus created a gnome circus which sent Albus to St. Mungo's and caused one set of curtains to catch on fire.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be exercising my creative genius," James announced, jumping to his feet. "Coming?" he asked Albus and Lily. They shrugged at each other and followed their brother up the stairs to their dad's office.

Teddy sighed and sat himself on the couch. Victoire followed suit, curling up against his side.

"You want to stick around to make sure nothing goes wrong?" Teddy asked. Victoire nodded.

"We have time," she said. "And, anyway, I highly doubt James explained the extent of the surprise." They looked at each other and Teddy's eyes widened. He tried to think of all the possible things James could add to the confetti blizzard that would make it potentially deadly. A confetti rain dotted with gnomes, perhaps? He shuddered.

"Well, we might as well make use of the time waiting," Victoire said. A small smiled began to creep up Teddy's face. _Oh, really, now_, his eyes said to her. She hit him on the shoulder. "Not like that," she said. Teddy feigned a pout as Victoire pulled out a folded bit of paper from the pocket of her shorts.

"I was looking at a few different listings that were in our budget," she announced, holding out the paper to him. Teddy took it and looked them over. Her research was actually very thorough. There was one Teddy was starting to like that was near an entrance to the Ministry. He pointed it out to her.

"Good, I thought you'd like that one," she said. Teddy put a hand on Victoire's knee and caressed it with his thumb.

"You want to look at it first, then?" she asked. Her hand roved up his forearm. Teddy leaned closer to her instinctively. Victoire smiled at him and placed a quick peck on his lips.

"That's not nearly enough!" Teddy said. He grabbed Victoire, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into her lap. She put a hand over her mouth to stifle a squeal as he began to tickle her ruthlessly. Teddy's fingers drifted over her sides and she kicked out at the air. Her hands tried to grab his, but she was weak with laughter and he was much stronger.

"Stop, Teddy," she breathed. "I swear I'll hex you!"

There was a crash upstairs. Teddy's hands stilled as they looked at each other and laughed. Taking advantage of the pause in Teddy's vicious attack, Victoire jumped up.

"Why don't I go see what's going on up there?" she said. Teddy smirked at her.

"Alright," he said, "but I'll be waiting." Victoire stuck her tongue out at him and disappeared upstairs.

Albus was hunched under his father's desk, balancing a drawer in one hand, a flashlight in his mouth, and a packet of confetti in the other hand. Meanwhile, Lily was spinning in circles on the chair and James was muttering at a place above the door while balancing on a stack of books.

Albus mumbled something.

"Better speak up, Al; we don't speak Mermish." Albus spit out the flashlight.

"I said: where did you even get all this confetti?"

"Trade secrets, little bro," James grinned. "Man, I can't wait for next year when you'll actually be useful. This whole 'no underage magic' thing is making this go slower that I wanted it to." He muttered another incantation, finishing off the charm with a flourish of his wand. He spun around and the precariously stacked books tumbled out from under him. With a small yelp, James stumbled across the room and only just managed to avoid falling on the floor. Lily giggled.

"Shut up," James said. He walked over to Albus to see how he was doing. "Here, I got it," he said, pushing Al's hands away. James waved his wand and sealed the connection so that, upon opening the drawer, their father would get a face-full of confetti.

"How many more places are you going to do it?" Lily asked. James's face lit up in that way that made adults nervous and teachers veritably quake and wet their pants.

"Oh, everywhere," James said. "I wasn't exaggerating when I said it would be a blizzard. I'm talking about every drawer, every book, every pencil…Ooh, that's good! We'll get his quills to only write 'Happy Birthday' and stuff like that."

"Congratulations on Getting Older," Albus suggested. "You're basically ancient."

"Albus, don't be mean," Lily said. She spun the chair in the other direction.

James puttered around with the confetti charms on another drawer as Albus extricated himself from under the desk. He stood and stretched widely, cracking his back with a loud pop. There were footsteps in the hallway and the three Potters looked up to see their cousin, Victoire, walking towards them.

"We heard a crash," Victoire said. "How's the surprise going?"

"Fabulously, cos," James said. "You want to help? Another one doing the charms will make this go so much faster." Victoire looked hesitant. James held up his hands, begging her silently. He even gave a good attempt at puppy eyes. Victoire shook her head and stood off to the side.

"I'll just observe your ways," she said. "I've never been much of one for pranks." James sighed and mimed a broken heart before getting back to his charm work.

"So are you coming to the party?" Lily asked. Victoire nodded.

"Wouldn't miss it," she said. "I'm not sure what Ted's getting him yet, but I'm painting him something."

"Ooh," Lily's eyes brightened. "Could you do one for my next birthday- maybe of a hippogriff or a dragon flying over a nice landscape?"

"Sure thing," Victoire said. She looked over as James made a sound reminiscent of an excited twelve year old girl. "Everything alright?" she asked.

"Better than 'alright'," James replied. He pulled a box out of the drawer he had been searching though and placed it on the desk. They all crowded around as he opened it to reveal a beautiful golden necklace situated on a bed of deep purple velvet. An hourglass was set in the center. James reached in and held it out in front of him.

"A time turner," Albus breathed. His green eyes were wide behind his glasses. James's impish grin widened until it looked far too big for his face.

"Now this is cool," he said.

"Put that back, James," Victoire said. He ignored her and instead began to study the time turner. "James," Victoire repeated. She reached for him but he spun away from her. "James, you shouldn't mess with that."

Albus pushed closer to his brother to try to see it as well. James swatted him away, but Albus reached for the necklace. There was a brief scuffle between the brothers and then a sharp crack.

* * *

A/N: So that's all for today folks! Thanks for the read! Next time you'll get to see plenty more of grown-up Teddy and the Ministry.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for your reviews. I love hearing feedback. Here is Chapter 3! It's a bit shorter than the other two, but I had to cut it there in preparation for what comes in the next chapter...Which you'll all read next week unless I can be persuaded to update sooner. *hint hint*

Please review! It would make my day.

* * *

Chapter 3

Teddy's head shot up. He tilted his head like a dog so that his ears were positioned to catch the most sound. He thought he had heard something, but now it was so very quiet, almost as if no one was in the house except for him. As quietly as he could, what with his atrocious sense of balance, Teddy stood from the chair and made his way upstairs. The door to Harry's office was ajar, but no sound was coming from the room.

_Hopefully Vic's been able to stop James doing anything extremely stupid_, Teddy thought with a sigh. He repeated the sentiment over again as if it were a prayer.

Pushing the door open tentatively with his foot, Teddy pulled out his wand and held it by his side, ready to spring into action should the need arise. The office looked rather trashed- the desk strewn with multicolored papers and streamers hanging from every corner. James had definitely been in there, but neither he nor his siblings or even Victoire was anywhere to be seen.

Curious, Teddy cast a detection spell which came up empty. No one was in the house.

"This is freaky," he said to himself. There weren't any windows as the office was an inside room, but there was a fireplace. Teddy knelt to touch the ashes at the bottom of the grate. There weren't any discernable footprints and the ashes looked old. They certainly hadn't flooed anywhere. Continuing his investigation on the floor, Teddy discovered fine yellow sand covering the ground before the fireplace.

Teddy followed the trail to a golden chain snaked around a bright pendant with a small hourglass set into it.

"Bloody fucking…" Teddy cursed. He beat his fist on the floor. James Potter would face the wrath of his father when he found out, but he would have to deal with the wrath of Teddy first.

* * *

Victoire coughed as her lungs were filled with ash and dust. Around her, she could hear groans and coughs as well, but she dared not open her eyes.

"Ouch, Al, that's my kidney!" James hissed.

"Well excuse me, but you're the one who knocked us into the fireplace!" Victoire wiped the soot from her eyes and stared at Albus, who was climbing off of his older brother, rather shocked. Albus was so mild-mannered Victoire had rarely heard him sound so snarky.

"You're cleaning all this up, James," Victoire warned her cousin. She heard him mutter "I know, I know" as he crawled out of the fireplace. The dust that clouded the room like Beijing smog began to clear and, with the increased clarity, so did Victoire's uneasiness increase too.

"James," she said, whacking him in the arm, "you didn't knock any floo powder in there as well, did you?"

"Shit, where are we?" was his only response.

The room they were in looked nothing like Harry's office. It was nearly bare, first of all. Second, its only furnishings consisted of an old chaise lounge of stained velvet in a deep emerald green, a rickety coffee table whose legs were carved suspiciously like serpents' heads, an empty bookshelf that hosted a fine spider web collection, and an old painting that showed a dark, stormy sky over a lonely moor.

"This is not good," Albus assessed. Lily muttered something that sounded like, "You think?"

Footsteps could be heard outside the closed door. The Potters and Victoire all looked at each other and drew their wands. Albus, who was already completely free of the fireplace, ducked behind the old lounge. Victoire positioned herself at the front of the fireplace and James, much to Lily's disgruntlement, positioned himself in front of her.

Victoire watched as the handle jingled. The door burst open and, before anyone had time to even think up a spell, they had all been disarmed. Many bodies rushed in; the second, Victoire recognized well. Looking at the young, unscarred face of Bill Weasley, her mouth dropped open. Her eyes met James's and then Albus's and Lily's and realization dawned upon all of them.

Lily said, "James, you utter twat!" Even in the midst of the hectic and confusing situation, all eyes seemed to turn to her. "What?" she said. "He is!"

* * *

It had always been like this. For as long as Teddy could remember, he was always bailing James Potter out of all the crazy shenanigans he got up to. He found himself lucky that he had only shared a year with James at Hogwarts. It had been a year wrought with difficult moral conundrums for Teddy (what with being Head Boy and also the god brother of one of the biggest pranksters of the new era).

Teddy sat back on his heels and ran a hand over his face. He knew he would have to think up something fast before any more damage could be done.

The plan was simple…sort of. Teddy would go back into work to "get something he forgot" before quickly slipping down into the Department of Mysteries. He cringed thinking about having to deal with the Unspeakables, but it was a necessary part of the plan. Sure, he would tell Harry about what had transpired in his office, but he wanted the Potters and his girlfriend back safe and sound long before his godfather was to get back home.

After examining the time turner further, as well as the open box it no doubt came from, Teddy had discerned that the time turner was newly made- an experimental model that Harry had been given so that he could place protective wards on it. Obviously that never got done. Either that or James Potter had a strange talent for causing disaster everywhere he went no matter what.

The model was number three of a set, so Teddy assumed that there would be number one and number two somewhere and that all three would have the same time limit as this first one, whose limit- Teddy nearly choked when he read this- was approximately twenty-six years in the past.

"Hey, Lupin, what are you doing back here?" Teddy winced as he heard his name called. He hadn't wanted to be noticed by anyone- the quicker he could get in and out, the better. "I thought they kicked you out at noon."

Marcus Byron, an Auror whose cubicle was across the aisle from Teddy's, sidled up to him and began to walk alongside. "Hello, Byron," Teddy said. "I wouldn't be here, except I forgot to take home some notes for that Fischer case I got last week." They turned down their row.

"Ah, tricky one that is," Byron said, nodding. "Myself, I've only got that darned cobbler case. They always give me shite assignments."

"Maybe next time," Teddy said, making no comment on the reason _why_ they saved all the boring cases for Byron. Neither Harry nor any of the other senior Aurors really liked Byron at all. "Listen, I'm just gonna grab this and dash, so I'll talk to you later," Teddy said, slipping into his cubicle.

Truthfully, there weren't any notes left on his desk. He had made sure his work area was pristine when he left for his week of time off and, anyway, Teddy was always careful to keep anything pertinent to the case he was working on with him in his moleskin briefcase, a gift from Hagrid for his graduation. And, truthfully, he had the case mostly figured out. Daryl Fischer was in custody and would soon be tried for the crimes of murdering his cousin, Miss Elinor Fischer with a toaster, enchanting a Muggle artifact (the murder weapon), and smuggling cursed goods. De Angelis would follow up on others in the trafficking ring while Teddy was gone.

Teddy counted out the seconds before he reemerged from his cubicle and nearly sprinted out of the Auror Office, past the useless secretary, and down to the lifts at the end of the hallway. He bit his lip as the lift took him down to the dreaded Department of Mysteries.

The Department of Mysteries was Teddy's least favorite section of the Ministry. It was even worse than the Department of Experimental Charms, which caused a raucous every other week whenever something turned out badly. Last time, it had been miniature dancing penguins, which would've be hilarious and cute as anything had they not been doing the electric slide on Teddy's report with their muddy penguin feet.

There was something strange and dark about the Department of Mysteries that made the hair on the back of Teddy's neck stand up. After hearing Harry's stories about it, he wasn't too keen on ever going down there. And then there was the issue with the Unspeakables who wanted to run tests on him to see why he wasn't a werewolf back when he was a first-year. Long story short, Harry put a stop to that quickly.

Anyway, Teddy followed the black marble hallway down until he met an Unspeakable in his midnight robes and funny-looking hat and pulled him over to the side.

"Auror Lupin," he said by way of introduction, flashing his badge. "I'm on special orders from Head Auror Potter to retrieve a time turner from the new collection." The Unspeakable, a small middle-aged man that was severely balding, stared at Teddy with dark, questioning eyes for a long moment.

"You're the child of the werewolf," he said. Teddy tried not to roll his eyes and bit back a retort about his father's more impressive merits- such as his Order of Merlin, First Class for honorable services to the Wizarding World- or the fact that his father's lycanthropy should be of no concern to anyone as if didn't affect him.

"Yes," he said, "and Harry Potter is my godfather, so I would appreciate it if you'd hurry up and get me what I need so that I can get out of your hair and I won't have to report to him how unhospitable the workers here are." Teddy hated pulling the 'Harry Potter' card, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Isn't he in America right now?"

"That is why I am collecting it and not him," Teddy said. He hoped the Unspeakable wouldn't question his need to have the time turner if he was in America anyway. Teddy had already been treading in deep waters and he had no good reason to explain that.

"Right this way then, Mr. Lupin," the Unspeakable said, though his eyes still looked wary. Teddy breathed a sigh of relief, though he knew there was still room for something to go wrong.

* * *

Victoire kept her eyes on her dad as they were all ushered out of the room and down the stairs at wand-point not just because he was obviously young Bill Weasley, but because he was holding all of their wands. As they went along, Victoire recoiled at the decor of the house- the house elf heads mounted on the walls and the cases of dark artifacts. She only vaguely recognized the layout of the house as the one they had just been in.

She was still coming to terms with what had obviously taken place. Though she hated to admit it, there was no other explanation for the strange turn of events other than the fact that they had just traveled back in time. After all, there was young Bill Weasley and, bringing up the rear of the caravan, there was Nymphadora Tonks, whom they all knew to be dead.

"I think this is 12 Grimmauld Place," Victoire whispered to James. He had been looking around with mingled disgust and interest as well.

"Dad did say it looked pretty horrible before all the renovations," James replied.

"Stop talking," they were ordered. Victoire bit her lip. The man with the roving magical eye made her a bit uncomfortable. He was identical to the pictures they'd all seen, but in person his gruff and overbearing nature was a bit much to handle. Mad-Eye Moody was a bit, well, mad.

They were all herded into the drawing room and made to sit on one of the couches there as Moody, Bill, and Tonks talked in hushed voices. Victoire shared looks with each of the Potters but they dared not speak.

"Alastor, what is going on?" called a voice that was all too familiar to all of them.

* * *

Teddy was led down the hall back the way he had come and through a door marked with the number four at the top. As the door shut behind them with a resounding clang, Teddy looked around the circular chamber they were in, completely surrounded by identical doors. The Unspeakable led the way across the shining black floor to the door directly across from them and opened it. Inside, Teddy was met by glittering gold everywhere.

A fine shining powder seemed to hover in the air above their heads in a ring along the edge of the circular room. In the center rested a circular table with a glass top. The glass case in the middle displayed golden pendants with shining chains, an hourglass resting in the face of each of them.

Teddy looked around with awe. Through the golden dust, he thought he could almost see pictures forming- a grassy hilltop where children ran and played, the Great Hall on the first of September, a young woman with eyes like chocolate and bright pink hair, a wolf with astonishingly human eyes that Teddy recognized as his own.

The Unspeakable snapped his fingers in front of Teddy's eyes and his attention was suddenly turned away from the pictures in the dust. He blinked, feeling as though he'd been roused from a deep sleep.

"Time is a dangerous thing to play with," he said. "Those are the sands of time, the particles that are in every time turner made. Within them exists every point in time in human history. One must only figure out how to access those points." Teddy swallowed thickly.

"I thought I saw-"

"Memories," the Unspeakable said. "And, if you're lucky, they'll show you things you don't even remember remembering- little seconds lost in your brain as you age. Just like time, nothing up there is lost, only more difficult to access."

Teddy nodded, watching as the Unspeakable made his way over to the glass case of time turners. He wondered if he would be able to find this room again and just spend a little while alone with the sands of time. He shook himself. It was a silly, juvenile thought. He had already been cautioned by Harry of the troubles with living in the past and hoping for a glimpse of something that could never be.

"Which model did Mr. Potter want?"

"Another one set for 1996," Teddy replied. The Unspeakable nodded and pulled out a time turner identical to the one that was now in two pieces on the floor of Harry's office. "These timer turners go as far back as we have been able to access- there are some older models set for five or ten years, but these are much better than the others. What did he say he wanted it for?"

"He wanted to experiment with the protective charms he was to put on it," Teddy said, hoping his excuse sounded reasonable. "You know, there are so many ways to kill a cat. He wanted to make sure he was ensuring the safety of the time turners as best as he could."

"Well, be careful with that, boy," the Unspeakable said. He slipped the time turner into a velvet bag and handed it gently to Teddy.

"I will. Thank you for all your help," Teddy replied. He hesitated, but realized that this was his only change to ask his question.

"What do you think would happen if one of these did break?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant. "I mean, Harry is working so hard on the protective enchantments. It seems like something catastrophic would happen."

"We have not finished conducting tests on this model," said the Unspeakable, "but we reached the conclusion that, if the hourglass was to break, it would transport anyone touching its sands upon impact to the furthest reach of the timeline it can visit. Such an accident would be extremely problematic, especially with this model, and we are unsure whether such a phenomenon could be reversible."

"That's just great," Teddy muttered under his breath. Of course James Potter would be the cause of some tragic 'irreversible phenomenon'. It was classic James.

They walked back into the circular chamber of doors and turned out of the door next to the time room. Teddy wondered where the Unspeakable thought he was taking them before he found himself in the main hallway of the Department. Teddy blinked. Of course he knew things moved around down here, but seeing it happen seemed mad.

"Down that way and up the lift," the Unspeakable directed. "Oh, and are you sure you couldn't spare a day to maybe donate some blood and take a few tests?" Teddy's eyes widened.

"No thank you," Teddy said stiffly. "I'm not a werewolf because lycanthropy isn't hereditary. There's nothing else to it." He turned and strode away.

Teddy could tell that the Unspeakable wasn't happy with his answer ("But you have the unique adage of a Metamorphmagus for a mother, a trait which you did inherit!" they always argued. That was usually when either his grandmother or Harry shut the door and contacted Kingsley.), but he didn't care.

From outside of the Ministry, Teddy apparated back to Grimmauld Place and hurried back to Harry's office. He wouldn't try to break the time turner, like James undoubtedly did. Maybe if he went about things the traditional way, he would be able to use the time turner to fix James's 'irreversible phenomenon'. He fastened the chain around his neck and held up the pendent.

"Please work," he whispered to it. "Please, I need to get them back home." Slowly, he began to spin the hourglass until it began to pick up speed itself. Staring at it, Teddy's vision began to blur. The room spun, slowly at first, and then so quickly that all the colors blurred together into one. Years were being crossed in reverse, compacted into mere seconds of Teddy's time.

Teddy felt himself thrown into the air. He hit the ground with a thump.

And then everything went dark.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the read, guys! Next week Teddy gets to meet a couple people he's always wanted to... I'm so excited to share it with you!

If you're mad at me and anxious to correct me please read: I wrote this prior to realizing that, after Sirius's death, Grimmauld Place was no longer used as Headquarters. I apologize truly and it irks me that I'd completely forgotten that, but I had already finished the whole story and, though I'd gone back to do some minor revisions, I didn't want to have to change everything to make it all fit. So, please, allow me some creative license here.

Also, the time room in the Department of Mysteries looks different, I know, but I thought that, after all those years, they might go for a bit of a make-over and I thought the sand thing was cool- sort of like pixie dust from Peter Pan :).


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm back again...And this time with a chapter you all have probably been waiting for. It's time for everyone to meet! (This is all November 1996 by the way- so we're talking HBP era). I hope you enjoy it!

Feel free to drop me a review. It would make me so happy!

* * *

Chapter 4

Opening his eyes again, Teddy felt like he had only blinked, but the world around him was obviously different. He could feel it in his bones and he could see it all around him. He was outside of 12 Grimmauld Place again and he wondered why the time turner had spit him out there before remembering the Fidelus Charm that had been on the house, along with the numerous other layers of magical protection.

The sky overhead was steel grey and cloudy, the kind of sky that foretold a storm. The street was deserted, thankfully, and most of the windows of the Muggle houses were dark. A cold wind whipped and Teddy buttoned up his Aurors' robes- deep grey like the sky above. It was obviously the middle of winter from the frost-filled air.

If this wasn't actually 1996, it certainly felt like it. The back of Teddy's neck prickled and he shifted anxiously on his feet. It felt like there was more than a simple storm brewing.

Despite the Fidelus Charm, Teddy found that he could plainly see number 12, sitting right where it always had, though looking as though it could use a bit of paint and a whole lot of love. He had been too young to remember the house prior to all the renovations, but they had all seen photographs and he knew what he was in for..

Teddy tucked the time turner down his shirt and hopped up the steps. He tapped the door handle with his wand and it opened slowly. Teddy stepped inside, wand ahead of him like he was going on a raid with the other Aurors. Of course, it was just him this time, and he had no idea what to expect from the people inside.

_They better be here and not some random part of the world_, Teddy thought to himself as he crept down the dark hallway. He knew there was a huge risk in exposing himself to so many people they knew in the future, and possibly those that they hadn't had the fortune of meeting. He was immediately met with the strong smell of must and mildew. He scrunched up his nose but crept on as silently as he could. He knew Sirius's mother must be mounted on the wall and the last thing he wanted to do was to wake her.

"Did you hear the door open?" asked a voice to Teddy's right. Teddy stopped in his tracks, trying to listen harder.

"I don't know. Are we expecting anyone to drop off reports?"

"I thought Remus was going to come back tonight, but it seems a bit early." Teddy held in a gasp upon hearing his father's name.

_Of course, idiot_, he thought to himself. _They're both alive in this time_. His heart beat frantically in his chest. Both his parents were alive. They were alive and he could possibly run into one or both of them.

_I need to get the kids and go_, he told himself. He took a step forward. The board creaked. He winced.

"Someone is here," said a deep, growling voice. Teddy held his breath. He hadn't even given a though as to what he would say upon arriving at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He always seemed to leave out a few details whenever he came up with a seemingly well-thought-out plan.

Teddy saw a flurry of movement out of the corner of his eye and instinctively raised his wand. The tip hit the hard mass of a man's chest as he felt the tip of the man's wand dig into his neck.

"Put the wand down, boy, or you're going to be in a world of trouble." Teddy raised his free hand, palm up in surrender and slowly backed up to set his wand on the ground. He raised his wand hand as well for good measure and stared up sheepishly at Mad-Eye Moody.

It was so strange seeing the legendary Auror in person. Everyone at the office still talked about him, and there was only a handful of Aurors who could even remember the man. He was everything Teddy had seen in pictures and memories- stout and gruff with a wild mane of hair and that magical eye whirring crazily in its socket. Teddy had to look away for all the motion was making him rather queasy.

"What are you doing in Auror robes, boy?" Moody asked.

"I'm an Auror," Teddy answered simply. "I qualified three years ago."

"Wrong answer," Moody said. "I know all the Aurors around and you're not one of them."

Teddy opened his mouth to answer when, from behind Mad-Eye, a familiar head appeared with messy black hair and thick-rimmed glasses covering bright green eyes that widened comically upon seeing him.

"Teddy!" Al exclaimed happily. "Guys, Teddy's here! Maybe he can get us home!"

"You know the boy?" Moody questioned. He did not turn away from Teddy but rather spun his magical eye in the direction of the growing crowd of Potter children.

"Yes, that's our god brother, Teddy," James said. "He was downstairs when the accident happened."

Mad-Eye gave him one last intimidating look before lowering his wand. Letting out a breath, Teddy stooped to pick his up and tuck it back in his sleeve. He followed Mad-Eye into the drawing room where the Potters and Victoire were sitting along with Molly Weasley, Bill Weasley, and…Nymphadora Tonks. Teddy kept his face as neutral as possible as he walked past them towards the Potters and Victoire.

"You guys are so dead, you'd be lucky to survive until your father gets home and I've told him what you did," Teddy said. Lily and Albus looked at each other sheepishly while James scratched his head. "And Vic, I can't believe they dragged you along too." She glared icily at him and Teddy tried not to wince. He never liked being on the receiving end of Victoire's anger. She was scarily exactly like Fleur.

"I did not get 'dragged along', Edward! James there just pulled out the time turner and I told him not to touch it and then the git went ahead and broke it and we all fell into the fire and ended up in the old room up there."

"You're another time traveler, dearie?" Molly Weasley stood to greet him. It was surreal seeing her staring at him as though she didn't recognize him, which she honestly didn't.

"Yes, ma'am," Teddy said. "And I apologize for all the trouble caused by my stupid god brother and his silly antics. He says he's eighteen, but I think the one must've been mistakenly placed in front of his real age." Teddy shot an accusatory glare at James.

"It wasn't entirely my fault," he protested.

"Says the guy who started the prank, found the time turner, and then broke it," Lily muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Well, here, why don't you sit down on the couch, dear and we can figure out what's happened. Obviously you all are a bit out of place. Alastor, should we call Dumbledore here?" Teddy took a seat next to Victoire who slipped her hand straight into his.

"Were you here very long?" Teddy asked. Victoire shook her head.

"We all found ourselves in the office upstairs a-la-1996. Moody took us all down here so that we could explain that we're not, in fact, Death Eaters. That was maybe fifteen minutes ago. I don't know what to tell them. I don't t want to screw things up." Teddy nodded. Across the room, Moody was just explaining that Dumbledore was off somewhere and would not be able to be reached until he returned to Hogwarts.

"Let me talk to them, then," Teddy whispered back. "I'm not sure I can fix things exactly but, knowing Moody, he might want to try legilimency or veritaserum and I'd rather take that than any of you." Victoire frowned and hit him lightly on the leg.

"We can take care of ourselves, mister noble sacrifice," she said. "Anyway, how did you get here?"

"I got another time turner from the Department of Mysteries. They're experimenting with new models, apparently. And, unlike you, I didn't have to break mine to end up here." He winked at her as she hit him again.

"Alright then," Moody said. He conjured up a stool and positioned it directly in front of the couch so he could keep both intimidating eyes on the lot of them. "I need names, backgrounds, and the actual story behind your appearance here. We'll start with the git at the end."

James Potter looked wide-eyed back at the grizzled old Auror and, Teddy was surprised to notice, somewhat scared. "But…What if that messes with time and the way history does…things…" he said, eloquent as always.

"We'll deal with it if we must," Moody replied tersely. "I want your name, boy." James gulped.

"I'm James Potter," he said quietly. If the situation wasn't so serious, Teddy thought he might've died of laughter at everyone's expressions. Molly had her hands up to her mouth. Bill looked as though he was trying to decipher a code. Moody's magical eye roved over James at a dizzying speed. Tonks's eyes widened. Teddy kept his gaze on her for a second longer than what might've been acceptable before he pulled his gaze away again.

She didn't look like the pictures he had, he realized and it unsettled him a little. Her face was the same, if a little pale-looking, but her hair was limp and lifeless, a mute mouse brown color. She seemed, he had to admit, rather depressed. He wondered what had happened.

"Tell them your full name, idiot," Lily said, obviously already fed up with everything.

"I'm James Sirius Potter," James repeated, but their audience's looks only grew more confused. "I'm eighteen. I was born in 2004. Where we come from, the year is 2022, and I graduated from Hogwarts this past June."

"Are you saying that you are related to Harry Potter?" Bill asked. James nodded.

"I'm his son," he said, "And this is my brother, Albus, and my sister, Lily." Molly made a little squeak of surprise and looked as though she was going to cry.

"Oh, he survives," she said, grasping onto her son's arm. "He has such beautiful children!" Out of the corner of his eye, Teddy could see James holding in a smirk as he watched his grandmum fall apart.

"Hold on a second, Molly. We don't know if they're telling the truth."

"Well of course they must be," Bill said. "I mean, look at Albus- he's the spitting image of Harry! Lily looks familiar too, but I can't place her face exactly, and it makes sense with their time travel story."

"Who's your mother, dears?" Molly asked. James's face lit up with glee as he eyed his sibling conspiratorially. They turned to their grandmum together and all at once proclaimed, "Ginny Weasley."

_Cue the waterworks_, Teddy thought as Molly really began to cry, exclaiming happily that Harry was finally part of the family and dear Ginny made such a good choice. Meanwhile, Bill looked contemplative and Teddy wondered whether he was secretly imagining a noose around Harry's neck for knocking up his baby sister. There was the reason Lily looked so familiar- she was like a young Ginny through and through.

"Your dad looks like he's going to have a serious talk with Harry," Teddy whispered to Victoire. She laughed behind her hands.

"Same look he gave you when we started dating," she recalled. Teddy shivered. That hadn't been a fun family dinner at all. It wasn't even as if Bill hadn't known him. He had been rather fond of Teddy before him and Victoire starting going out…And then he had found out just how intimidating Mr. Weasley could be…

It was strange to see Bill so young, with his face so whole and perfect. The scars from his encounter with Fenrir Greyback had never fully healed, as cursed wounds are wont to do. But that protective look in his eyes- that was the Bill Weasley everyone knew in their time. No one touched his little girls- not even the little boy who had splashed with them in the ocean when they were in diapers and training pants.

"Molly, please collect yourself," Moody said. "I want to find out who the other two are and then we can decide what to do with the lot of them." He directed his gaze to Victoire as Molly hiccupped into silence, a handkerchief clutched tightly in her hand. "Who are you, then?"

"Victoire Juliette Weasley," Victoire replied. Molly quietly celebrated her fourth known grandchild. "I'm twenty-two and the oldest daughter of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour." Bill paled. Molly grew quiet. Tonks cracked a smile.

"Bill, you can't mean you actually married her," Molly said. Bill winced. Victoire did not hold back from displaying her infamous '_Did you really just say that?_' expression.

"We're engaged, Mum. That's usually the next step." He still looked a bit dazed.

"So I'm your dad, huh?" he said. Victoire nodded, unable to hold back a smile. His face was too funny. Actually, he looked rather like Uncle Ron whenever Aunt Hermione went on one of her long speeches about the horrible treatment of house elves or mermaids or even hags.

"You have two other kids," Victoire said. "There's Dominique who's twenty and Louis who's nineteen."

"And what about you, dear," Molly said to Teddy. "Are you another Weasley?" Teddy shook his head. Molly looked a little disappointed but still eager to know his parentage anyway.

"I'm Teddy," he said, "just Teddy. I'm not related." He glanced at Victoire and shared a knowing look with her. She stroked his arm comfortingly. Unfortunately, Teddy's answer wasn't cutting it for Moody and, much to Teddy's surprise, his words had attracted the interests of Teddy's mother. She leaned in closer; her brow furrowed as she examined her face and Teddy had to consciously tell himself not to morph out of embarrassment. He was thankful that his hair was at least a normal color- light blond today- so that he attracted much less attention.

"You're not getting out of answering my questions, boy," Moody said. "And I still don't believe you're an Auror." Teddy sighed, his eyes lighting upon each of the people who were scrutinizing him as though he was under a microscope. His gaze stopped at his mother and they made eye contact for a brief moment before he looked away.

"My name is Edward Remus Lupin," Teddy said. He closed his eyes as he heard a gasp, wondering whether it was from Molly or his mother. "I'm twenty-four years old. I qualified to be an Auror ages ago." He pulled out his badge to show Moody. "They changed styles after the war ended," he explained. "Harry changed a lot of things about the department." Moody examined the badge thoroughly before returning it to Teddy who tucked it into his robes.

"Wow," Bill breathed out. "Who knew? I mean, Remus is wonderful with everyone and I'm sure he'd make a fine father, but he's never seemed interested in a family or anything."

"Who's your mum?" Teddy looked up and met his mother's eyes again. This was the first time she had said anything and Teddy found himself staring at her with awe for a second, trying to process the question.

"Isn't it obvious?" Molly Weasley said. She was drying her eyes with the handkerchief again, looking wonderfully pleased with each bit of new information she gleaned from the group. The expression she had was one Teddy was actually very familiar with. She always had that look about her around May 2nd.

Tonks stared at him, obviously waiting for him to answer her question. Rather than speak, Teddy let his hair shift darker until it turned bright pink, like his mother's hair in so many of the pictures he had in the scrapbook Harry and Grandmother put together for him. Teddy didn't think it would be possible for his mother to lose anymore color in her face, but she turned ashen white and swayed as though she was about to faint.

"No," she said. "He can't be…Remus and…He…" She never finished her sentence, instead bolting out of the room. Teddy's face fell and he could feel the color drain from his hair, leaving his natural brown in its place.

"I'll go after the poor girl," Molly said, but Bill put a hand out to stop her.

"Let her calm down a bit," he said. "You know how things are between them better than any of us."

Teddy was rather ashamed of his reaction to his mother up and leaving the room as if being with Remus Lupin was the worst thing possible next to being with a dementor. He was a bloody adult and had been for more years than he cared to announce and yet he felt rather like a shunned child. Victoire wrapped both of her arms around his right one and rested her cheek on his shoulder in comfort.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him. "I know this is probably the last thing you'd pictured, thinking about meeting her." Teddy merely nodded. He had gone back in time to bring his god siblings and girlfriend back and there he was being comforted about the less-than-satisfactory reception he received from his mum.

He felt a hand on his back and looked up to see James had gotten up and was kneeling by the other end of the couch. "Hey, I'll bet you can talk to her later and everything will sort itself out," James said, serious for once in his life ("Yeah, I'm Sirius. What's it to you?"). "Look, obviously they fall into each other's arms at one point and profess their love and head off to make little werewolf babies because here you are." He grinned; obviously proud of the advice he had given.

"Thank you for that, James," Teddy said with a wan smile.

Despite Mad-Eye Moody's ravings that it was unsafe and they were still uncertain of the verity of the children's story, Molly insisted that they all be put up in rooms while they awaited the return of Dumbledore.

"Alright," Moody acquiesced, "but I still think we need to examine some memories just to make sure- the eldest one would be most ideal as he is the biggest threat." Molly sent him a glare that would've shaken any young Weasley in their boots. "But we can certainly wait until another legilimens arrives since you obviously don't want me touching them," Mad-Eye amended.

"I just want someone with a lighter hand to do it," Molly said. "If not Albus, perhaps Remus could do it. He'd be very gentlemanly about it."

Molly then led the time travelers upstairs to bunk in the rooms that had been cleared away the summer of '95 for Harry, Hermione, and the younger Weasley children. They hadn't been used much since then, but they were certifiably rid of all manner of magical pests and fine enough for their (hopefully) short stay.

Albus and James were put into Fred and Georges' old room- two dire mistakes in one go, but Teddy hoped James would at least realize he either had to act like an adult or risk changing the future drastically. Lily and Victoire were put into Hermione and Ginny's old room, but Teddy doubted Victoire would actually stay there. At least, he hoped not. Especially being in this odd and confusing situation, Teddy wanted at least to feel her next to him at night like at home. Teddy of course was put into his own room that had a large, austere bed and dark green curtains shadowing the windows.

After staring up at the ceiling from the bed whose linens smelled of damp, Teddy decided to get up and get a cup of tea. He was still mulling over his mother's reaction to learning about him and, though the wound was less fresh, he still felt just as horrible about the whole thing. It was strange really, he thought, to be so worried about something like this so late in life. After all, according to Harry, the day he was born was the happiest he had ever seen Remus Lupin and Grandmum said the same thing about Tonks.

Teddy walked past Victoire's room, not even stopping to ask if she wanted anything. He just needed to be alone for a while before she inevitably forced him to open up and tell her all about his feelings, most likely in the comfort of the night while they were wrapped in each other.

On the first floor, Teddy turned left and continued on back into the dining room. Though the décor was drastically different, the layout of the house was the same. From there, he pushed open the door in the back and entered the kitchen. He wasn't alone, however. His mother stood at the counter, stirring a cup of tea. She jumped and turned as she heard him walk in. Her eyes widened.

"I'm sorry," Teddy said reflexively, and began to leave.

"No," she said. He turned, feeling a little spark of hope flare in his chest. "Stay. Do you want some tea?" He nodded and she brought down another mug. She set it down on the counter and spun around to get the cream and sugar, knocking the mug to the floor with a loud crash in the process.

"Oh, bugger," she muttered, running a hand over her face. "I'm so damned clumsy!"

"It's okay," Teddy said. He pointed his wand at the mug and the pieces jumped back together as if nothing had happened. He began to make the tea himself, though his hands were shaking. "I'm the same way most of the time. Professor McGonagall wouldn't let me in her office after I caused such a mess during the start of my seventh year." A smile grew on Tonks's face, an honest, happy smile.

"Well if you're anything like me, you should watch where you step in the entrance hall. There's an umbrella stand whose life ambition is to trip me, and the commotion always wakes up that horrid painting of Sirius's mother." She faltered somewhat over the name 'Sirius', but smiled soon again.

"Of course; I'd only seen the painting once before Harry took it down. I was very little, but I remember what she yelled at me quite clearly." Tonks's eyes widened.

"You can take it down?"

"It took a team of Ministry officials and three long, grueling afternoons but it did happen," Teddy said. "I think it was the most expensive thing Harry did to fix up the place. It's completely different in our time. The Potters live there and I used to stay over a bunch when I was school-age."

"Are things very different in the future?" Tonks asked. "They must be. I assume the war is over."

"Things are much better," Teddy promised.

"I'm sorry for running out earlier," Tonks said. She took a sip of her tea. Teddy had watched the way she made it- a dash of cream and three sugars. He just took his black.

"That's alright," Teddy replied. He didn't want her to know how hurt he was from that. "It must've been a lot to take in. I mean, I'm your age." Tonks's eyes glazed over slightly and she looked deep in thought.

"Yes it is," she said. "And, anyway, Remus…" Here her voice really faltered. "Remus and I aren't exactly on speaking terms right now. I was beginning to give up hope on him."

Teddy felt as though the image of his parents that he had been building all his life from the fragments he was given suddenly shattered and began to rearrange themselves into some darker, more grotesque picture. _Real life_, he told himself. He was old enough to realize the truth of the matter after all. What he had been told was a fairy tale of princesses and dragons and happy endings.

Still, he found himself angry with Harry and his grandmother and Molly Weasley for blatantly lying to him like that. Everyone always said they were so in love, and it was 1996 for Merlin's sake. They didn't have much time to get their issues sorted out.

"Molly always told me how…I mean…" Teddy found himself saying, hating how young he sounded even to his own ears. Teddy strove to find the right words to explain himself; words that didn't give away the fact that he had never met his father or mother. "I always thought you and…Dad…were really in love with one another." Tonks let out a cynical laugh at that.

"I love Remus very much," she said, "and, whether he wants to admit it or not, he loves me. He's just being a major git right now." She took a sip of tea.

"Is that why your hair is all…" Teddy tried not to be mean, but she seriously didn't look like herself. She laughed.

"Yeah," she replied sadly. "I haven't been able to control it in months. He's off throwing himself into what is essentially a suicide mission because he wants to get away from me. And then, whenever we do see each other, it's the same routine over and over. 'I'm too old' or 'I'm too dangerous'. The bloody idiot," she muttered, shaking her head. "Anyway, we haven't told you the story before?"

"No," Teddy said.

"What am I like, you know, as a mum? Am I a fun mum?" Teddy held his breath. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest. He wasn't the greatest liar; he had already expended the extent of his capabilities with the Unspeakable. But, really, what was he supposed to say to that?

"You're the best mum," he said quietly, willing his voice not the catch and betray him. He looked at the floor for a moment to hide his face as he took a calming breath. Tonks grinned at him for a second before her smile faltered and faded.

"Teddy," she said seriously, "Teddy, in the future…Am I dead?" Teddy only had to look up for her breath to catch. She could probably tell by the pained look in Teddy's eyes that he found impossible to morph away.

"Oh Merlin," Tonks said.

"I'm sorry," Teddy said. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have told you."

"No, no, Teddy…Oh, Merlin…No, it's okay, really," Tonks said. "Come here." She held her arms out and Teddy suddenly felt himself being held by his mother for the first time in his memory. It was rather strange with them being the same age and him being a full head taller than she was, but he made sure to commit the moment to memory anyway. He took in her smell and the way she patted his back, somewhat awkwardly considering the situation.

"When does it happen?" Tonks asked as she pulled away. Teddy shook his head.

"I shouldn't tell you."

"Mad-Eye will erase all our memories of this; there's too much risk in keeping them," Tonks argued. "I just want to know for now…Please." Teddy took a deep breath.

"I never knew you," he admitted. "I've never met you before." As his words registered in Tonks's head, her eyes widened. "I never knew Remus either. You both died in the battle at Hogwarts a bit less than a month after I was born." Tonks looked like she was going to pass out again.

"Remus dies too?" she asked. Teddy nodded. As he confirmed his fate, tears began to tell up in Tonks's eyes. "Who did it?" she asked.

"Antonin Dolohov, according to some witnesses," Teddy answered. "And Bellatrix Lestrange was rather vocal about getting you." Tonks let out a string of curse words worthy of a Muggle sailor. He face grew red and she looked more angry than weepy.

"That bitch!" she exclaimed. "I should've killed her in the Ministry! I hope she got what she deserved. I hope she was thrown to the dementors and given the kiss of her life."

"Molly killed her after she aimed a killing curse at Ginny," Teddy said, rationalizing that if he told that much, he might as well finish off the story.

"Molly? Our Molly Weasley killed her?" Tonks looked awestruck.

"I'm told it was a great sight to behold." A grin tugged at the corner of Teddy's lips and he and his mother shared a laugh.

Even from the kitchen, they could hear the door creak open and Molly exclaim her happiness to see the guest.

"Remus," Teddy heard her say, "I was hoping you would be by soon!" Teddy and Tonks looked at one another, two startled deer. The footsteps sounded as though they were getting closer and closer to the kitchen.

"He's not going to take this well," Tonks muttered to Teddy. "So just be prepared for some mild ranting, derisive comments about his state of being, and a speech on the trials and tribulations of growing up with a werewolf in the family."

"Right," Teddy said, rubbing his slightly clammy palms on his pants. He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he had developed. "That doesn't sound too bad."

* * *

A/N: So that's it for this week. Next week you'll get to see Remus and a glimpse of Teddy's childhood. Remember to review and hopefully I'll see you all next week. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello lovely people! Here is chapter 5 for you all. I just want to give a little warning for future Fridays. School has started again, as it inevitably does every year, and so I am far more busy than I was this past summer- especially because this is, arguably, the most important year for me in terms of getting good grades and being involved with things.

So what does this mean? Even though I've already finished this story, it may mean I miss a Friday update and post the chapter on Saturday instead, especially once theatre season starts. I'll admit that I'm always a bit hesitant to upload and I do rewrites and final edits on the day I post.

Don't worry- I will finish this. Please stick with me!

I'd love some more feedback, though, so please review! Thanks to those who did.

* * *

Chapter 5

"I'll just slip into the kitchen and make myself a cup of tea, if that's alright, Molly," Remus said. "If you insist it's not very much trouble, I'll stay for dinner. I haven't had a decent meal in so long."

Teddy knew that his father hadn't had the largest bank account and that he was often living in poverty due to the harsh stigma surrounding werewolves and the laws restricting their work and home life. He hadn't quite expected Remus Lupin to walk in looking like death itself however.

Remus Lupin was very thin- much too thin for his tall stature. Over six feet tall, he matched Teddy in height, but probably weighed a good twenty or thirty pounds less. His robes were shabby and stained with mud and even blood. His face hadn't been shaven and stubble adorned his chin. His grey-streaked hair was awry. And still, he walked with an air of quiet elegance.

As soon as she saw him, Teddy could see the worry and anguish in Tonks's eyes. She was obviously personally pained by his terrible state. Teddy raised a comforting hand to pat his mother's shoulder. Remus looked up at them and, rather startled began to make his retreat.

"I'm sorry Nymphadora and…" He looked a while at Teddy before turning his attention back to the witch beside him. "My apologies for interrupting; I'll just see myself out."

Tonks let out a frustrated sigh and hurried after him as he slipped back out of the kitchen, leaving Teddy standing in the middle of the empty room while his would-be parents were probably about to row in the dining area.

_What a novel experience_, he thought, but could not muster a chuckle.

* * *

"Remus, wait," Tonks said sharply. "This is not what you think it is." He turned to face her, hands in the pockets of the sad heap of thread he called 'robes'.

She dared not examine his condition too closely for fear of what she might find. Since he had started his mission with the werewolves, they'd only seen each other a couple times. The encounters had been brief and angry; just long enough to reestablish that Tonks was in love with him and Remus was the stubbornest human being on the planet. Neither time had he looked so downtrodden, weak, and abused, however, and it scared Tonks to wonder what he must've been through in the past couple of months.

"No, it's alright Nymphadora. This is what I wanted. Don't hold out for me. He seems very nice." Tonks wrung her hands together angrily.

"Would you just stand there and listen to me for a second? Because you have this whole thing absolutely arse-backwards and you need to listen to me." Remus stared at her with his mouth slightly open. "Sit," Tonks ordered and Remus sat. Tonks took the chair at the head of the table and leaned forward to make sure she had his full attention.

"This is going to come as a huge shock to you and you aren't going to believe a word I say, but I assure you that it's all true and I'll allow you to ask questions after I've finished, okay?" Remus raised an eyebrow at her but nodded his understanding.

"Alright," she said, "This afternoon, I stopped by to drop off a report with Moody and we heard this huge crash from upstairs. We all hurried up there to find four teenagers flying out of the fireplace, completely unconscious. They woke up in due time and we put them in the drawing room and were just starting to question them- because, really, how did a bunch of teenagers get to be in that fireplace?- when another young man came through the front door, in the hopes of rescuing them, I suppose."

"What does this have to do with-"

"Shut up," Tonks said, holding up a hand. "I'm getting to it. Anyway, Moody began to question them and they all said that they were from the future- the year 2022- and that three of them were Harry's kids, one was Bill's daughter and the young man who came in to take them back home was a Lupin." At that point, Remus looked about ready to burst, so Tonks allowed him to ask his questions.

"What do you mean he was a Lupin? I'm an only child and I would never do that to an innocent boy. I just couldn't, Tonks."

"He's our son, Remus," Tonks said. Remus shook his head fervently.

"No. That can't happen. I would never allow that to happen," he protested.

"Well, obviously it did happen because he's the guy in the kitchen you seem to think I'm shacking up with!" Tonks exclaimed.

"He must be lying," Remus argued. Tonks sighed and shook her head.

"His name is Teddy Remus Lupin," she said. "Ted- like my father…And he's a metamorphmagus. You can't fake that." Tonks watched at Remus pressed the tips of his fingers together like a pyramid, thinking deeply. He shook his head again.

"This is insane," he muttered. Tonks laughed cynically.

"How do you think I feel?" she said. "He's twenty-four- older than I am and I'm supposed to believe that I gave birth to him? That's what's insane."

"Well, he must know something about us that only a child of ours would know, right?" Tonks raised an eyebrow at Remus. "That way we can be sure he's telling the truth," he explained. Tonks rolled her eyes but got up to talk to Teddy where he was waiting in the kitchen. She found him leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed, waiting anxiously.

"Remus doesn't believe you're his son," Tonks whispered to him. Teddy nodded somberly. "He wants to ask you a few questions or, well, he wants you to tell him something only a child of ours would know, just to be sure."

"I don't know what I could say, though," Teddy murmured to Tonks. "You know I don't know any of that stuff. I only just found out how you take your tea. I don't know how you would act together married. Heck, I don't think _you_ know that! I can't tell you the types of things families would know. I know about your childhood and I know he was a great professor, but that's all. I'm sorry."

"What do you want to tell him, then?" Tonks asked, trying not to show how upset his admission made her. She wanted a life with Remus badly and she wanted to have his children- she wanted to have Teddy. Knowing that they would come so close to that dream only to never experience those things properly broke her heart.

Without saying a word, Teddy walked out of the kitchen and Tonks followed right behind him.

Remus stood to greet him, holding out his hand. "I'm sorry I look so awful," he said. "I've just come back from a mission for the Order." Teddy nodded.

"With the werewolves, right?" he said. Remus nodded, looking Teddy over thoroughly. Tonks motioned to a chair and their son sat down.

"Mad-Eye spoke about using legilimency on me to ensure that we were telling the truth," Teddy said to Remus. "Molly suggested that you do it because you'd be a fair bit gentler than Mad-Eye. I'm willing if you're willing, and if you agree not to push in where I don't want you to."

Remus contemplated the offer for a long moment before agreeing. "Only because Mad-Eye wants it done anyway," he explained. "I'm not a fan of legilimency as an interrogation method, especially on…um…"

"I'm not a child- not anymore," Teddy said, rising from his seat. "I'll find Mad-Eye and let him know. We might as well kill two birds with one stone."

* * *

_Remus watched from a distance. He waited hesitantly in the kitchen doorway, looking out at the scene that was forming before him. Sirius took a seat on the couch, visibly buzzing with excitement. He bounced his knee as he waited. Soon enough, James and Lily appeared, the latter holding a little bundle that wriggled in her arms. _

_"Be very careful," she warned Sirius. Her eyes flashed with motherly protectiveness. She passed the little bundle to Sirius, instructing him on how to hold the baby properly. James took a seat beside Sirius, watching the pair of them together proudly. Remus thought that he'd never seen Sirius reel in his excitement so magnificently before. He was obviously ecstatic, but was cradling little Harry with a calm, almost demure manner. _

_"This little guy is great, Prongs," he told James. James merely shrugged, as if to say 'well, yeah, he's my kid!' Looking down at Harry, Sirius told him, "You and me, we're gonna be best friends, kid." _

_"Oh I just know he'll be a great prankster, just like us," James beamed. "And he'll be a mighty Gryffindor and the best Quidditch player in the world!" Lily snorted at that.  
_

_"As long as he doesn't grow up to have your excessive ego," she said. "I would never allow that." _

_"Well that's what your lovely genes are for, darling," James replied, trying to look sweet. Lily rolled her eyes at her husband and turned to look at Remus. _

_"Why don't you have a turn?" she asked. "I'd like Harry to have some good, responsible influences in his life as well." Remus blushed as he deferred the offer. He was flattered, of course, but he didn't think it was at all advisable to allow someone like him to hold such a new child, or any child really. Harry was only a few days old and, anyway, the full moon was only a week away. Remus explained to his protesting friends that he just didn't want to risk anything. _

_Remus wished that he could hold baby Harry, though. He'd always loved kids and wanted some of his own. Such a life- the wife, the kids, the house with the large yard for them to run around in- was only a fanciful dream, though. Remus knew that he'd never be able to marry and have a family of his own. He was too dangerous and the world was too cruel to those like him._

_He knew that he could never allow himself to endanger another by marrying. He could never risk passing down his curse to a newborn child. He would never teach his children how to walk, never take them to Diagon Alley or see them off to Hogwarts on September 1st. Such was the greater pain of his affliction. 'Family' was not a thing that werewolves got to have. _

* * *

Remus tried to take in every detail about the boy- well, young man- that sat before him as he talked. As he whispered urgently to Nymphadora, he tried to divine from his face pieces that were familiar to him. He was surprised to be looking at exact copies of his eyes under hair that resembled Nymphadora's coloring. If this was his real face, he had received her lips and chin and his ears- a strange melding that seemed rather perfect to him.

Teddy Lupin- if that really was who he was- seemed polite if rather stiff. He certainly didn't seem to know them, but maybe that was just an effect caused by meeting younger versions of his parents. He had been wearing deep grey robes with the Ministry's MLE patch on the chest- he was an Auror, just like his mother.

Remus ran his fingers through his dirty hair. It was so hard not to refer to the young man as their son, though Remus was certain that he must be lying. There was no doubt in his mind that, in another world in which he wasn't afflicted with lycanthropy, he would jump at the chance to marry Nymphadora and start a family with her, but unfortunately things could never be like that.

Seeing Teddy gave Remus hope that he knew should never exist in his heart. He wouldn't do that to Nymphadora. It wouldn't be fair to her or any child of theirs.

Remus sat in the drawing room on the chair across from the sofa. Teddy sat across from him, looking somber and a little nervous. Teddy ran a hand through his hair, and Remus stared at him. He couldn't help but notice the action that was so familiar to him.

Around the room were scattered the rest of the time travelers, whom Remus met briefly. He was astounded, of course, by the likeness Albus bore to Harry and the mischief that sparkled in James's eyes, though his little sister said he was somewhat subdued at the time. He learned that the pretty blonde Weasley was Teddy's longtime girlfriend and, upon learning about that himself, Bill sent a death glare Teddy's way, causing the Potters to burst out laughing and Victoire and Teddy to share uncomfortable glances with each other.

Mad-Eye situated himself behind Remus and then asked for quiet as he urged Remus to begin. As if in a mirror, both he and Teddy unconsciously ran their fingers through their hair and, noticing, they eyed each other curiously.

"I promise not to pry," Remus said. Teddy nodded once and looked into his eyes. Remus marveled at their similarities and then said, "Legilimens," and he was in Teddy's mind.

Navigating memories and thoughts through magic was a confusing task at best. Teddy, however, was obviously trained in the art and directed Remus through hallways of memories, past many doors that were closed, locked, and then dead-bolted shut. Remus was obviously curious, but he followed Teddy's directions.

_Proof_, he heard Teddy say in his mind. And then he was transported to a kitchen table. A little boy with bright blue hair was kneeling on the chair, trying to pour his own cereal and making an absolute mess. Andromeda Tonks hurried over and tutted at the boy, cleaning up the flakes that had gone astray with a wave of her wand.

"Teddy Lupin, you are just like your mother," she said, shaking her head. Young Teddy grinned widely and reached for the milk. Before she could stop the boy, the table turned into a dairy waterfall.

_The scene changed._

Remus immediately recognized the headmaster's office, though it was Minerva McGonagall that sat behind the desk instead of Dumbledore. She stared down her pointed nose at the boy before her. He had Remus's green eyes, but his hair was bright orange. He slouched in the seat, biting his lip, decked out in black and yellow plaid pajama bottoms.

"Mr. Lupin," McGonagall said, "I know you have…medical issues…that prevent you from sleeping on the night of the full moon, but you need to at least stay in the castle. It seems impossible to get you to contain yourself to your room but please, for my sake, don't ever wander into the Forbidden Forest after hours on the night of a full moon!"

"Yes ma'am," Teddy murmured.

"I swear you'll give me a heart attack even before James Potter starts here!"

_The scene changed._

Dinner at the Potter house- Harry and Ginny looking much older, surrounded by younger versions of the kids in the drawing room. Teddy made faces for young Lily as James and Albus argued.

Remus could feel Teddy was beginning to push him out but, giving in to his selfishness for once, Remus took control and sifted through his son's memories. He wanted to see them together. A powerful sort of longing- almost greed- came over him. He wanted to see the happy family of his dreams. He wanted to see the life he had sworn away as impossible. He wanted to be assured that all his fears were in fact in vain.

_The scene changed, though Teddy tried to pull him to a different path._

Teddy was waiting outside the door of an unfamiliar cottage by the sea. His hair was its natural dark brown and combed nicely. He was wearing a jumper over a button down shirt and light-colored chinos and shifted back and forth on his feet until the door opened, revealing a younger version of Victoire Weasley.

"Hi," she said, and leaned close to kiss him on the cheek.

"Hi," Teddy replied, looking extremely relieved to see her. He stepped inside and was greeted by Fleur in the entryway.

"Good evening, Teddy," she said rather excitedly. "Dinner is almost ready!" Almost all of her accent had disappeared.

Teddy followed Victoire into the dining room where she was shooed away by her father. Bill Weasley looked much like himself except with greying hair and nasty scars running down his face.

"Sit down, Lupin," Bill said, and Teddy visibly paled. Bill sat across from him, folding his hands together on the table. "I've known you since you were a baby, Teddy," Bill started. "I know you're a fine young man, but I still want to have this talk with you because you need to know, good friend or not, if you step even an inch out of line with my daughter, there is no holding me back. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley," Teddy replied with a gulp.

_The scene changed and he could feel Teddy's indignation._

Teddy looked to be about eleven. His hair was turquoise and spiky. He sat on a couch with Harry, a book open between them. They looked at a picture of a blue-haired baby in between two beaming faces. Remus hardly recognized himself, and there was Dora, looking beautiful as ever.

"Hagrid gave me a scrapbook at the end of my first year," Harry said.

_Teddy begged Remus to stop._

"I didn't want to you leave without having something to remember everyone by."

_Please get out, Teddy pleaded. _

"And remember, if you ever need anything or even if you just want to talk, just tell Professor McGonagall or Neville and we can set up a floo, alright?" Teddy nodded. Harry pulled Teddy into a tight hug and the little boy wrapped his arms around him tightly as well.

"We have to stick together, you and me," Harry said. "You're part of the family, Teddy. Always remember you have the biggest family, filled with people who love you so much." He pulled away and looked Teddy in the eye. "You're like my eldest son."

_The scene changed._

Teddy's hair was somber black and, with his green eyes, he looked almost like a son of the man who walked beside him. He was wearing his school robes still; the black and yellow Hufflepuff tie around his neck and a Prefects' badge gleamed on his chest.

The sloping hill was near the school, which could be seen towering against a soft grey sky in the background like a watercolor. Remus had looked over a view like that one many times before, but what the pair were headed towards was new to Remus. The graveyard wasn't there in his time.

Enclosed by a tall wrought-iron fence, the area was dominated by a marvelous white tomb, but was surrounded by dozens of white headstones in different shapes and sizes, all set in careful rows. In the middle of the graveyard stood a tall stone obelisk surrounded by lavender and baby's breath.

Remus tried to hurry them along, anxious to see whom they were visiting in the graveyard by the school.

_Leave now!_

Teddy shoved at Remus mentally so hard that he finally obeyed. Remus pulled out of Teddy's mind and blinked, suddenly blinded by the harsh change in scenery. Before him was the same boy, only years older and glaring at him viciously.

"I thought you said you wouldn't pry," Teddy said. His hair turned into a flame of red, the color starting from his roots and then growing like a wildfire.

"I'm sorry, Teddy," Remus said. "I just wanted to see-"

"Well, what's the verdict, Remus?" Mad-Eye asked. Teddy stood and walked out of the room, followed closely by Victoire.

"He's who he says he is," Remus said as he watched his son go. "They're all who they say they are."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the read, all! I hope you liked it. Next chapter is some Remus/Tonks fluffy/angsty times so I hope you're all into that. But seriously if you all are fans of Teddy you gotta be into a bit of Remus/Tonks, right? Please?

Please **REVIEW!** I would love you forever and ever eternally!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! This isn't exactly fluffy, but there will be fluffier things later; I promise. I didn't realize exactly how dreary and angsty this whole story is but whatever.

I hope you enjoy! Drop me a review!

* * *

Chapter 6

"Hey, what happened?" Victoire cornered Teddy on the upstairs landing. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for an answer. Teddy sighed. He had been trying to avoid everyone, needing a little time to himself.

"Uh…Well, Tonks was asking all these questions and she ended up with the idea that she was dead in the future…I couldn't lie, so I told her the whole truth." Victoire gasped.

"That must be horrible for her," she said. Teddy nodded.

"And she's already in a bad place," he added, thinking about what she had said about her relationship with his father. "And then everything was going fine with the legilimency until Remus got curious I suppose, and I couldn't hold him off. He's much better than I am. Anyway, he was getting pretty close to some touchy subjects and, since everyone always says how smart he was, he'll probably have figured it out as well."

Victoire was silent for a long beat. "Would it really be so bad for them to know?" she finally asked. "Moody and Dumbledore are sure to sort out everyone's memories. They might as well know so that they can take advantage of this time and spend it well with you." Teddy shrugged.

"I don't want to distract them," he said. "The war is still on and it's not going to stop just because I want some quality time with my dead parents." He held out a hand to stroke Victoire's cheek apologetically before he hurried back down the stairs.

Teddy sighed. He knew he wasn't exactly being great to Victoire or any of the others, but he felt as though he needed to handle things on his own. Trying to balance his desire to get to know his parents with the need to maintain an almost business-like formality and drive to fix this whole issue was stressing him out. He honestly didn't know whether it would be better for him to spend time with his parents and miss them more, or keep his distance and possibly regret what could've been.

Come to think of it, he didn't even know if his parents would want to spend time with him. They weren't getting along anyway. Tonks had been rather warm to him but, in the back of his mind, Teddy couldn't help but wonder whether his father really wanted him.

He spotted Mad-Eye Moody standing by the door to the dining room.

"Hey, Moody," he said. He pulled the Auror through to the empty library.

"What do you want, boy?" Moody questioned, his magical eye focused everywhere except for Teddy.

"Are there any developments on ideas to get us back to our time? Is there anything I can do to help? I know the longer we stay, the more risk there is and I'd rather get us all back before anything happens and preferably before Harry and Ginny come home to discover their kids are missing."

"We can't do anything until we hear from Dumbledore," Moody intimated. He shook his head, obviously displeased. "Until then, all you can do is to lay low. That means none of you are allowed to leave the house. Order members will be coming and going and you'll need to stay out of sight. The less memories we need to modify, the better." Teddy nodded.

Moody leaned in a bit closer to Teddy and murmured to him out of the corner of his mouth, his lips barely moving, "And watch out for Nymphadora, will you? She's been out of sorts lately and you may be able to cheer her up."

* * *

After dinner- which she had been forced to stay for, despite the fact that she should've been back at her post over six hours ago- Molly cornered Tonks in the kitchen. She had that look about her as she made her way to the edge of the counter by the door, as if trying to prevent Tonks from escaping. Tonks sighed.

"Nothing's changed, Molly," she said. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"Yes, but these things take time," Molly said. "You've seen a glimpse into the future and you've got the life you wanted with him." Tonks looked away. Of course she couldn't fault Molly for not knowing. She couldn't tell anyone else what Teddy had told her- not even Remus.

It had been eating at her all night. She had never been one for thinking morbid thoughts- she preferred to live in the present and try to enjoy herself- but she found herself wondering how many family dinners they would have together before the inevitable separated their family while they were all eating Molly's casserole together.

Dinner had been an interesting affair. Arthur came back from work to the surprise of four of his grandchildren. They all had a grand time introducing themselves to their grandfather before sitting down to dinner with him. The Potter children had an entertaining dynamic- James was amazingly outgoing, spouting out funny stories and rude remarks every time he opened his mouth. Albus seemed more reserved and thoughtful, but was obviously close to James. Lily reminded Tonks very much of Ginny, which was unsurprising. Victoire was very polite when spoken to, but mostly she was whispering to Teddy, who seemed distracted as well.

His hair was blue again. Tonks wished she knew him well enough to figure out if that meant anything. Looking at him, she was also a bit jealous. He was a fully-functioning metamorphmagus after all, and he seemed to have his life together. After everyone was done, Teddy merely motioned his head at James and the Potters followed him upstairs, presumably for a family meeting in one of their rooms.

Remus was in the library telling Moody about what he had seen inside Teddy's head. Tonks couldn't believe he was still suspicious of the kids. Merlin knew she had already accepted everything a long while ago. It still rather shocked her, but she accepted that they were all telling the truth.

"I think you should speak to him again. He'll be in town for the next week, anyway." Tonks's ears perked up at that. After months of him living amongst the werewolves, trying in vain to gain supporters, it was wonderful to hear that he was given a break.

"He's not going back?"

"Not until the end of the month," Molly said. "And then he'll be back for Christmas and New Year's."

"I wish Dumbledore would just let him give up. We're obviously not gaining enough information or supporters to warrant one of the best members of the Order risking his life every day," Tonks muttered. Molly watched her looking somewhat amused at her rant.

"Alright," Tonks said. "Maybe I'll go speak to him."

* * *

Tonks watched Moody leave 12 Grimmauld Place before she ventured into the library. Remus was holding a cup of tea and seemed to be examining the row of books on the shelf at his eye level. Tonks rapped her knuckles lightly on the open door and walked in.

"Oh, Nymphadora," Remus said. He had changed out of his old robes which had been dirtied with all the troubles of living with a pack of werewolves. His new robes were still old and worn, but at least they were clean. He looked much better in clean clothes and with a little food in him. And his hair was washed and his face shaven and she couldn't help but think him handsome. "I thought you were supposed to be in Hogsmeade."

"I am," Tonks said. "I already sent a patronus to Proudfoot. I said my mother was deathly ill. He probably didn't believe it, but if he gives me shit about it, I'll hex him." Remus chuckled quietly at that.

"How have you been?" Tonks asked. Remus sat down on one of the austere but lumpy armchairs and motioned for Tonks to take the adjacent one. She lit the fireplace in front of them with a flick of her wand and suddenly they were bathed in warmth a golden firelight.

"I could be better," Remus admitted. "I'll admit that this mission is not easy, but I've made a couple good allies and we muddle through together. One, well, she is to remain neutral in the war…"

"She?" Tonks frowned.

"She's twelve years old," Remus said. Rather than feel relieved, however, Tonks's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. She immediately regretted her jealous thoughts. "They're biting the young ones to build up an army," Remus explained. "It's what they did last time, too. I couldn't just stand by and watch her suffer, so I sort of took her under my wing or, well, paw."

"That's…" Tonks could hardly come up with the words to describe it. "That's absolutely appalling," she finally said. "It must be so very hard for you to watch all the young kids who've…" Remus nodded slowly, staring into the flames.

"It's hard to know that I can't save them," he said in a voice so soft Tonks could barely hear him.

"Why did Teddy look so mad at you?" Tonks asked. Remus sighed and shook his head.

"It's my fault entirely. I betrayed his trust. He was showing me memories of his childhood to prove they are who they say they are and I got curious so I started poking around more. I saw a few things he probably didn't want me to see." Tonks sat up and knelt on the chair like a child, leaning eagerly towards Remus.

"Can you tell me what you saw?" she asked. "I mean, I'm his mum. If only you knew, it wouldn't be fair." Remus ran a hand through his hair.

"You won't take no for an answer anyway; you're so stubborn," he said. He thought back before beginning. "The first one was of him when he was little- maybe five or six- at your mum's house. He spilled cereal everywhere and Andromeda said he was just like his mum." Tonks sat back, trying to picture a little blue-haired boy in her mother's kitchen.

"The next was years later- he was school-aged, maybe thirteen- and he was sitting in the Headmasters' office with Minerva, who was yelling at him for walking in the Forbidden Forest on the night of the full moon."

"Well there you have it," said Tonks. "He's not a werewolf." Remus nodded.

"He was wearing black and yellow pajamas. I think he was a Hufflepuff," he said. Tonks squealed with glee.

"I rest my case," she exclaimed. "Hufflepuff is clearly the best house if our boy was in it!" Remus shook his head but a smile pulled at his lips. "What were the other memories?"

"Umm…There was one of him having dinner with the Potters. James, Albus, and Lily looked really young. He was pulling faces at them like you used to do with Hermione and Ginny. That was where he wanted to stop, but I moved right along and saw him talk with Bill about respecting his daughter- usual boyfriend to father talk." Tonks laughed at that.

"Then I saw one of him and Harry right before Teddy started his first year at Hogwarts. Harry was giving him a scrapbook full of family photos…We looked so happy, Dora." He shook his head. "Anyway, Teddy and Harry seem very close. I probably named him godfather. Harry told him that Teddy was like his eldest son. The last one was of him walking towards a graveyard with Harry. He was wearing his school robes and a prefects' badge. He pushed me away before I could see the headstones closely, though." Tonks paled.

"It could've been anyone," she said quickly. Remus raised an eyebrow at her and Tonks swallowed dryly. She was never any good at lying- not to people who mattered to her.

"Dora, I think…He didn't show a single memory of either of us with him. It was always him alone or with Victoire or Harry."

"That doesn't mean a thing," Tonks said automatically.

"Dora, I think you know something you're not telling me- something about our…our family."

"Shit," Tonks muttered under her breath. Remus waited, looking expectantly at her. Tonks knew the only thing to do was to tell him. After all, he would figure it out on his own anyway. He always thought about things so damn much.

"Remus, Teddy told me that there will be a battle at Hogwarts in which Harry finally defeats Voldemort. Everyone in the Order shows up to fight, as well as the members of Dumbledore's Army and any other of-age students. You and I…We don't make it. Teddy was born less than a month before."

Remus turned away from Tonks and put his face in his hands. "You can't mean…You too?" Tonks nodded somberly. "Why did you even…Bloody hell, what am I saying? This hasn't happened yet. We can still-"

"Remus, there's nothing we can do. You can't change history! Mad-Eye will erase these memories and history will go on as planned. We'll get married and have a beautiful baby boy and fight to make the world he grows up in safer. He'll grow up surrounded by the Potters and Weasleys and he'll have his grandparents as well. He'll become and Auror and marry the beautiful Victoire Weasley." A tear slipped down Tonks's cheek unbidden. "He'll have a wonderful life…without us."

Remus jumped out of his seat and knelt before Tonks as she finally let herself cry. He wrapped his arms around her tightly as the tears came quietly, wetting a patch on his shoulder where she buried her face. Remus stroked her back in gentle circles.

"You saw it yourself," Remus murmured. "He's a fine young man." Tonks nodded, but the tears did not stop. She ached for the life that she had not yet been able to experience- a life she knew would be as fleeting as a childhood summer. She cried for all the years that were stolen from her and Remus as well as for Teddy, who had to grow up without parents. She ached inside for Remus, who hadn't touched her in months until this night when they mourned a grown-up son they didn't know and a life they never led.

"I just…I want to have a life with Teddy. I feel almost like I've lost a baby and I never even had one to begin with!" Remus pulled himself out of their embrace and reached towards her to cup her face in his hands. He brushed tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

"I know. I want that life, too, more than anything," he admitted. Tonks could feel her heart falter, tripping on his words before treading onwards even more powerful than before.

"You do?" she whispered, almost afraid he would hear and then say no. Remus looked bashful, but nodded once.

"I never thought I would have a family," he said. "With my condition, I would never let that happen, as you well know. I suppose your stubbornness eventually wears me down, though." He attempted a smile as he stroked Tonks's cheek with the back of his hand. "I know I've pushed you away, but I did it in an attempt to protect you."

"We know the ending to the story now," Tonks said softly. "I never needed protecting." She unconsciously began to lean in towards Remus. Her lips parted in anticipation as she saw him do the same.

"I don't deserve you," Remus whispered and he pressed his lips to hers.

His kiss was hard and insistent, but Tonks didn't care. She assumed that he felt much like she did and just needed the closeness. She needed to feel him close to her, to feel that he loved her. With all the knowledge they had gained, Tonks felt as though every minute was a waste as her life counted down to an inevitable end, too soon for someone so young.

Tonks ran her hands up Remus's chest and secured them in the hair at the back of his head. Tugging lightly, she guided him closer to her, leaning back into the chair. He followed her without question, never letting his lips leave hers. It was as though this kiss, this act of love between them, was keeping them alive and together and safe.

"I love you, Remus," Tonks murmured against his lips. He didn't answer but only pulled her into another long kiss.

Wandering hands and hot lips explored territory that was both familiar yet foreign, like navigating through a lost memory. Tonks could remember nights, seemingly a lifetime ago, when they would fall together, sharing breathless laughter that soon turned into sweet kisses, a melding of lips and bodies.

She wrapped a leg around his thigh. His hand slipped under the edge of her top. The fire let out a loud pop and startled the both of them. Remus sat back on his heels, his hands resting on Tonks's thighs, and looked at her. Tonks smiled lazily, reaching down to run her fingers along his arm.

"Maybe we shouldn't," he said suddenly. Tonks could feel the smile slipping from her face.

"Why are you so scared still?" she asked. "You've said already that you wanted this. You and I, we want the exact same thing." She leaned forward and captured Remus's hands in hers. "Just give in to what you want for once," she implored him.

"I don't want to hurt you," Remus murmured.

"It's too late for that," Tonks said, instinctively reaching up to touch her lank hair. "But you can redeem yourself." She caught his face in her hands, looking deeply into his eyes, before catching his lips with her own. He moaned softly against her and she knew that she had won.

The lights were out in the rest of the house. Molly had probably gone up to bed and everywhere was quiet. They crept together through the entry hall and out the door as quietly as Tonks's sense of balance, thrown off even more by Remus's kisses, would allow them to.

They apparated to Tonks's flat from the front steps of 12 Grimmauld Place. Last time they were there, Remus had left her angry and alone as he went off on his mission but, as they moved together to her bed, Tonks was determined to make many new, better memories to share.

* * *

A/N: So there's that. Next chapter, we've got a bit of Harry and Ginny as well as sleepy James. Stay tuned!

Pleeeeeaaasseee REVIEW, friends!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I am so so sorry! But this week has been hectic.

Okay, so first of all there was this huge English project due and this Anthropology project. Then I had auditions for the fall play, which I thought I did horribly on but it turned out that I got the part! So learned about that Friday and went to the read-through and then was too excited to do much of anything.

So, in summary, I have a great role in the fall play and I'm very, very sorry! Forgive me and review?

This chapter is kinda meh but I thought I'd post it anyway. Thanks guys!

* * *

Chapter 7

Back home when they were younger, Teddy often stayed up late telling stories to James and Albus long after little Lily had fallen asleep. He stayed over at the Potter's quite regularly, but his visits were still special for the boys, who seemed to idolize him a bit, and Lily, who whispered to him that she preferred him over her smelly brothers any day.

When he got older, there were fewer sleepovers and more family dinners shared. Sometimes he would eat at the Potter's three nights a week, much to the disgruntlement of his grandmother.

"Teddy, you aren't being polite taking all their food!" she would tell him. The next night, he would floo over to the house with a cake for dessert and Ginny would tut at him because he was family and didn't need to bring anything and James would hiss "Shh, Mum, you can never turn down free cake!" and he would share a grin with Teddy.

When Teddy finally put together enough savings to rent his own flat, it was him who invited the Potters to dinner and Ginny walked in with a cake and gave him decorating tips while James, Albus, and Lily explored his bedroom and his cupboards. It was a small one-bedroom flat barely bigger than a closet, all spread out on one floor of a building, but Teddy was very pleased with himself for managing to avoid old Muggle student areas in favor of bustling London, near work.

A couple years after, Teddy moved into a new, larger place and Victoire moved in unofficially while her parents strove to ignore the fact that she often never went back home for the night. If she and Teddy were back in their own time, they would be talking to his grandmum about the row house they had seen the previous week.

Teddy was astounded by how, even with so much stuff going on that was far more pressing, he could manage to worry about the silliest things, like the Muggle estate agent who had liked them but frowned at Victoire's ring-less left hand or whether the lady across the street was actually a squib or merely a bit insane.

They all sat in a relatively circular shape in James and Albus's room. Teddy sat on the floor with his back to one bed while Victoire sat next to him. James was across the way in a high-backed chair and Lily and Albus were sprawled across one of the beds and the latter had just finished telling Teddy exactly what had transpired in Harry's office. Teddy shook his head.

"Well now you have to tell how you got here," James said. His hands drummed a beat on the chair's armrests.

"I went to the ministry and picked up another time turner from an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries," Teddy explained. "And I took the more traditional route of going back in time- you know, spinning the hourglass? Much more precise than smashing it on the ground," he said. James stuck his tongue out at him childishly.

"Did you tell Dad?" Lily asked. Teddy shook his head.

"I was contemplating it. Actually, I regret not contacting him and waiting for his help. Now we're all stuck here hoping that Dumbledore will return from wherever he is to fix everything."

"Well I, for one, am glad you haven't told him," James said. "Now you'll be in trouble as well!" Teddy frowned, knowing it was true. Harry could no longer do things like take away his broom as a punishment, but he was very capable of more terrifying things like suspension from work or docked pay or even the classic silent treatment, which would be murder coming from his godfather. Teddy had, he realized with a jolt, broken quite a few laws to go back in time. He began to feel a little queasy.

"Moody says we need to keep out of sight of the other Order members who will be coming and going. He'll probably tell a few others about us, but if fewer people know we're here, there's less work for him to do when we leave. Got it?" The Potters nodded. "And I need you to stay out of trouble because we could already be messing things up."

"Got it, Captain," James said, saluting him.

"How are things with your parents, Teddy?" Albus asked. Teddy ran a hand through his hair.

"Don't worry about it, Albus," he said. "They've just had a shock is all. Imagine what your parents would say if they met you now." A wild grin broke across Albus's face.

"We'd be like twins," he said, "since Dad is my age." James's eyes widened.

"I'm older than him," he said. "If we met, I could totally boss him around!"

"And mum is fifteen right now," Lily said. She made a face. "That's so weird!"

"Didn't your mum date one of your dad's friends in her fifth year?" Victoire asked with a devilish smile. She shared a look with Teddy, who began to crack up. She knew exactly what she was doing. The Potters all made faces.

"That's absolutely horrid," Lily said. "I don't even want to think about that." Leaning to Albus, she asked in a feigned whisper, "What trash do we have on Vic's parents?"

"Nothing," Albus said, frowning at Victoire. "He's already engaged to her mum and it's before the attack so his face looks completely fine!"

"That's true," Teddy said. "It was so weird. And Molly looks so young, too!"

"Did you see her blubbering about how wonderful it was that Dad married Mum?" James cried. He cracked up. "Classic Grandmum," he said. "She was always so happy to have Harry Potter in the family."

"Ooh, imagine if we see-"

The Potters talked late into the night about all the relatives they could possibly see in their younger states- everyone from Fred Weasley ("That would be sad…But at least we could see him and George together in real life!") to Draco Malfoy ("What would Rose and Scorpius say if we told them?") . Teddy stood up while they were in the middle of their animated conversation and motioned for Victoire to follow him.

He led her across the hall where he flopped down on the huge bed. Victoire began to look through the room, opening up the wardrobe.

"There are a couple sets of clean pajamas in here," she said. "Grandmum Weasley must've really thought of everything. Do you want one?" Teddy nodded and Victoire tossed him a set- blue and green plaid- and kept the other for herself. They changed quietly and climbed into bed together, settling down into their usual positions with Victoire's head resting on Teddy's chest and one arm draped around his middle. Teddy stroked her back gently and closed his eyes.

"Do you think time is still moving for everyone in the future?" Teddy asked. "Harry explained how the time turners worked for him in his third year, but it's hard to imagine being able to go back without any time having passed."

Victoire shrugged. "Call Dominique," she said with a laugh. "This sounds like a question for a Ravenclaw." Teddy nodded, still wondering about it as Victoire shifted in his arms to get more comfortable before promptly falling asleep.

Harry wondered what exactly he was even doing at the Washington D.C. Defense Convention. First of all, it had taken a series of strenuous portkeys to even get to D.C. due to the tight security in the country. Secondly, the hot, sticky summer weather was giving Ginny a headache and she was impossible when she was in pain. Thirdly, it was two days before his birthday and he had wanted to be doing something he liked instead of listening to boring speakers.

_They didn't even ask me to speak_, Harry thought to himself. He had only been invited to observe the style of defense that was being taught to American wizarding students at the schools in Vermont and Oregon and to be a famous face to sit in at the dueling competition. The young Americans had been alright, and there were one or two phenomenal duelers, but for the most part, Harry had been bored.

"They're using such elementary spells," Ginny had whispered to him during one of the duels. The boys, both from right in the heart of the capital, were in their final year of school. "Dumbledore's Army could beat them in a heartbeat.

She and Harry had also had the pleasure of meeting the President of the American Ministry of Wizardry, a Mr. Clifford Leighton. He had been a pleasant enough man, but by the time they were introduced, Harry was in such a bad mood Ginny had to repeatedly elbow him to make sure he was at least looking interested in the conversation.

All in all, by the time he and Ginny arrived back in their hotel room in the Wizarding area of town, he was absolutely ready for the trip to be over and done with.

"Then why don't you send a message to Ron and Hermione and let them know we'll be back early," Ginny suggested. She had her hair up in a towel as she soaked in the tub, a crossword from that morning's paper in her hand. "Do you know a seven letter word for a dark creature that lures travelers through marshes with a lamp? Red Cap doesn't fit; the Americans must have their own silly word for the creatures."

Harry headed back into the bedroom and conjured his stag patronus. Crossing the Atlantic would be too strenuous a journey for any owl.

"We're coming back early; the convention was shit," Harry told the stag, and sent it galloping out the window in search of Ron Weasley.

"I'll just arrange for another portkey for the morning, then," he called to Ginny. "Would that be alright?"

"Fine," Ginny called back. "Merlin knows we'd better check on the house before James and Albus burn it down!"

"That's supposed to be Teddy's job, but you're right. I don't know if we'd ever be able to trust those two together."

The next morning, Ginny waved all their belongings back into their luggage and she and Harry headed down to catch their port key.

"It's a shame to see you leaving so soon," the head of the Convention Committee, Alison Santorini, said with a smile much too large for her face.

"We're terribly sorry," Harry said, "But it seems as though our middle son has fallen ill and we'd like to be back with him." Ginny shared a mothering look with the lady and they finished saying their goodbyes.

The old Chinese Take-out container glowed bright blue and they grabbed hold of it, eager to be back in London again.

The portkey dropped them off in an alley near Grimmauld Place. Neither of them much liked using the alley, but there were hardly any good places to portkey to in London with all the Muggles everywhere. It was only a short walk back to the house and they both appreciated the cooler air and cloud cover.

"Hello?" Ginny called as they stepped into 12 Grimmauld Place. Ginny walked further in and called out again, "Albus, Lily, we're back home early!" She sighed at the carpet that needed cleaning and the dirty dishes piled in the sink.

"Maybe we should steal Kreacher away from Hogwarts again," Ginny called to Harry. He spied the mess in the kitchen and wholeheartedly agreed.

"That'd be nice, but our hooligans could use a lesson in doing chores first," he said. "Have you found them yet?"

Ginny shook her head. She looked at the clock on the wall. "James should be at training right now…Is Teddy off today? Maybe he took them to Diagon Alley or something?" Harry shrugged.

"Before we left, he was trying to put in an application for leave, but I think he wanted to go seal the deal with that row house he was looking at with Victoire."

Ginny smiled. "Oh, that's so lovely. They are too cute together. Any word on the wedding yet?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "I don't think he's proposed yet. Going about things a bit slow, but I suppose he wants things to be settled first," he said.

"That's so like Teddy," Ginny said, raising her voice to carry down as she climbed the stairs. Harry heard her open and shut the children's doors before coming back down. "Yup, they're gone. Patronus Teddy, would you? I know we shouldn't worry, but…"

"Yeah, of course," Harry said.

Teddy awoke early and cleaned off his old clothes before putting them back on. He folded up his Auror robes and dumped the pile on the chair. Looking at himself in the dusty mirror, he hoped he wouldn't look too strange. After all, he had kept his robes on the whole day and no one had seen the Muggle clothes underneath. Just like every morning, he spent a few minutes playing with the color and style of his hair before picking one. Today, he chose an undercut, slicked back neatly, in honey blonde. It was a similar shade to his father's golden brown and one of his favorites.

Behind him, Victoire had woken as well as was cleaning off her clothes. She wrinkled her nose at them and muttered a quick transfiguration spell to alter the style and color.

"Not too bad, huh?" she asked, twirling slowly so Teddy could examine her work. It looked as though she was wearing a brand new pair of jeans with a jumper when only a minute ago she had been holding a t-shirt and high-waist shorts.

"Nicely done," Teddy assessed. "You don't think they'll be able to tell with me, will they?" Victoire looked him over. Teddy was wearing a plain white button down with olive green chinos and oxfords. Victoire shook her head.

"You look very dapper. It's bloody cold though," she said and tapped the flannel pajama top he had been wearing with her wand. "Here," she said, handing him a light grey cable-knit jumper which he slipped on.

"Why are you so good at that?" he asked. He kissed her on the cheek in thanks. Victoire shrugged.

"It helps whenever I get paint on anything. Mum would go mental otherwise."

Together, they headed across the hall to wake up the boys. As expected, the room was a mess. James was completely cocooned in his blankets, hardly visible and sound asleep while Albus was laying spread eagle on the other bed, covers thrown half-off. He had apparently fallen asleep with his glasses on and they were half-squashed under his face.

"Get up," Teddy said, grabbing a pillow off of James's bed and whapping him in the butt. He spun around and hit Albus in the stomach. Sleepy groans issued from both of them, but neither opened their eyes.

"Come on, you butts, get up!" Teddy hit each of them again.

"Get out of here, Teddy," James suddenly roared, chucking his other pillow in the metamorphmagus's general direction. Teddy ducked, laughing, and jumped on James's bed.

"Bloody hell, would you piss off? I just want one more hour of sleep, git!" James whined, trying to kick Teddy off.

"You look like you have things under control," Victoire said. "I'll go get Lily then." As she left, James finally uncovered himself enough to shoot Teddy a murderous glare.

"Why do you want us up so bloody early, anyway?" he asked.

"We're guests," Teddy said. "It's polite. And, anyway, Molly will be downstairs just waiting to fry something up for us and you don't want to make her miss her chance to feed her growing boys, would you?" James rolled his eyes but finally extricated himself from his covers and punched Albus in the gut.

"Up," he said as Albus coughed. Both of them had fallen asleep in their clothes.

"Before you go down, go see Victoire about your clothes. She'll transfigure them and make sure you don't look like a bunch of bums."

As they all went downstairs together, James was still arguing with Victoire about the jumper he was given. Apparently he wasn't a fan of sweaters.

"Vic, I'm serious. You need to change it! How hard is it to make a sweatshirt, anyway? I'm not Teddy. I don't dress like a professor."

"Do you hear that, Ted?" Albus said. "James is knocking on your style."

"He's just jealous," Teddy said automatically. He liked the way he dressed. He thought he looked intelligent and grown-up. Of course, James was more athletic and was a fan of trainers and skinny jeans and sweats. Victoire had listened to his requests in terms of trousers- they were tight black ones- but apparently had gotten annoyed just after transfiguring his shirt into a long-sleeved blue one and had outfitted him with a fuzzy brown jumper complete with elbow patches and a turtleneck collar.

"Yeah, I don't know about that on you, James," Lily said. "Maybe you can't dress smart because you aren't smart." She jumped out of reach of her eldest brother as Albus laughed.

Sure enough, Molly Weasley was awaiting their arrival in the dining room. She had been drinking a cup of tea but, as they all filed in, she jumped up and immediately levitated dishes to the table.

"I wasn't sure when you all would come down, so I had a few things kept warm in the kitchen for you," she said.

"Thanks, Grandmum," Albus said immediately as he sat down to tuck in. Molly beamed at being called 'Grandmum' and hurried into the kitchen to get more food.

By the time she was done, the table resembled the Great Hall in Hogwarts very strongly. There was a heap of scrambled eggs, a couple rashers of bacon, a plate of sausages, a whole loaf's worth of toast, and potatoes as well as beans and plenty of jam and butter to go around. Everyone got a hot cup of tea and filled their plates. Weasley breakfasts were always the best breakfasts.

"So, where is everyone today?" Victoire asked. She took a sip of tea.

"They're all off on Order business," Molly said. "Alastor is talking to Kingsley about you all, I think, Bill and Arthur are at work, and Tonks should be in Hogsmeade- that's where she's stationed. I suspect you all will have a quiet day indoors while Alastor figures something out. He doesn't want you seen by anyone."

Teddy nodded and chewed his potatoes thoughtfully as Molly poked her head out into the hallway.

"Now, I don't know where Remus went off to, but he usually stays here when he has time off from the mission he's working on." She turned to Teddy. "He's supposed to be here all week, so I'm sure you'll see him again." Teddy nodded, wondering whether that was a good thing or bad.

They finished up breakfast, everyone feeling wonderfully stuffed with all manner of good food, and Victoire and Lily offered to help clean up, eyeing the boys until they agreed to help as well. Teddy picked up his plate and the empty dish of bacon when a shimmering silver stag galloped in through the door. He dropped the plate and it shattered.

"What did you- oh, is that?" Albus stared at the stag rather nervously.

"Teddy," it said in Harry's voice. "Ginny and I came back early. We're just wondering where Al and Lily are."

"Shit," Teddy whispered as the stag disappeared. Victoire waved her wand at the broken plate and the pieces jumped back together.

"It's alright dear", Molly said as she emerged from the kitchen. "Tonks comes in here and breaks half a dozen things before she leaves…What is it?"

"I've just had a patronus from Harry," Teddy said. "Like, our Harry."

Teddy called another family meeting in the boys' room. They rejoined in their old seats (after some grumbling about the state of things in the room) and began to discuss the odd case of the patronus. Of course, no one could conceive how this was actually possible, or how Teddy could hope to answer Harry.

"Well, there's only one Teddy Lupin," Victoire said. "It must have found a way to find Teddy through time."

"Then there's no way we can send one directly back to either Mum or Dad," James assessed. "Then the young versions of them would receive it."

"So, in order to let Harry know where we've gone, we'll have to send a message to someone who doesn't exist in this time," Lily said. Albus nodded.

"Exactly," he agreed. "We should send a message to Rose or Hugo. Then maybe Aunt Hermione could help as well." The others readily agreed to this plan and looked expectantly at Teddy. "Go on, then," Albus urged.

Teddy conjured his patronus- a beautiful she-wolf- and relayed the message to her before sending her on her way.

"To Rose Weasley: Go to Harry's. Something's happened. I can't contact him directly. Bring your mum with you if you can."

The wolf inclined her head to Teddy and loped across the floor at an easy pace before jumping through the window and out of sight. Teddy let out a breath.

"Let's hope that works then."

The wait seemed much longer than it actually was.

They talked a little, but mostly they sat. Lily found a deck of exploding snap in one of the drawers and played half a round with Victoire, but neither of them felt much like playing and soon threw the deck aside. They talked a little more, and sat a while longer and almost gave up hope when, an hour later, a silvery tabby cat sauntered into the room. Everyone sat up and waited patiently for it to speak.

"I don't know why I have to be here, but I did what you said. Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny are really worried though." The cat faded away.

"Wow, she sounded ticked off," James said.

"Whatever." Teddy waved a hand at him and conjured up his she-wolf again.

"James broke the time turner in Harry's office. We're all in 1996 at 12 Grimmauld Place." James cried out for Teddy to stop but the she-wolf merely sniffed at him before jumping through the window once more.

"I can't believe you said that," James pouted. Teddy opened his mouth to retort, but a flurry of silvery animals came through the window one by one. The stag was the first to speak.

"James Sirius Potter," it said. "I cannot believe you would be so juvenile. Is everyone alright? Who else is there?" The stag disappeared and was replaced by Ginny Potter's horse.

"You all are in so much trouble!" Ginny yelled. "You're lucky we can't follow you or else you'd be so dead!" The dog disappeared and was followed by Hermione's otter.

"Excuse Ginny," said Hermione. "Just hang tight. I'm sure we can find a way to get you back together." As it disappeared, Teddy conjured the she-wolf again and sent his reply by way of Rose Weasley.

"It's me, Vic, and all three Potters and we're all safe and unhurt. Moody is trying to figure out something but Dumbledore is away right now."

The reply came after a few minutes. This time, it was only Harry's stag.

"Keep them safe," he said to Teddy. "And, if you can, take good advantage of the time you have with them."

* * *

A/N: So thanks for reading! I'll try to actually get the next chapter up on time! Next chapter is has a bit of Lupin family bonding time.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hello everyone! See, I said I'd be back on schedule! So anyway, I had a pretty good week. Rehearsals started and I'm loving this part. Costumes are a pain in the ass, though because nothing in our annex is from the right time period! Also, I have to cut my hair for the play which means I probably can't do locks for love (I don't have enough yet and was going to grow it out more).

Also, there was this really hot substitute teacher in English today and he had a great butt. Like A+.

Anyway, enough about me. Here's the chapter. Please REVIEW! It would make my day.

* * *

Chapter 8

When Tonks arrived in Hogsmeade again, she was distracted.

"You almost look alive today, Tonks," Proudfoot joked as they passed in the hallway of The Three Broomsticks, where they all had rooms. She flicked him off and kept walking, needing to find a change of clothes before going back out.

"How's your 'mother' doing, by the way?" he called after her.

"Better than your face if you don't stop bothering me," Tonks called back. She could hear Proudfoot chuckle as he walked away with Savage, their long Auror robes swaying as they walked. She scowled at their retreating backs.

Thomas Proudfoot and Jason Savage were two of the most infuriating men to work with. She could hardly believe that they had even passed their Auror training.

_At least I'm not partnered with Dawlish_, Tonks thought as she opened the door to her room. She threw off her old robes and got new ones out of the wardrobe. Dressed in fresh clothes, she stood in front of the mirror and screwed up her face, desperately trying to get something to change. Nothing came. She groaned.

Tonks had thought that, with the knowledge of her future son and last night's escapades with Remus, she would be back to her normal shifting self, but to no avail. Her hair didn't look quite so dreary anymore. In fact, it was her natural color and style and didn't look like a dirty rag, but she still couldn't morph.

"Damn it all," Tonks muttered to herself. She grabbed a pair of gloves from the table by the door and hurried out again to get to her post.

Monitoring Hogsmeade on a day when there weren't student trips was much like guarding an empty room. There was nothing to do. Hogsmeade was small- merely a row of shops amongst a strip of empty land. There were maybe a handful of houses but, really, the team of Aurors must've made up a quarter of the town's population. Tonks decided to take back every negative thing she ever said about early Order missions- staking out this potential Death Eater or hiding under a cloak across the street from Harry's house for six hours.

She began her walk down the empty street, watching for anything suspicious, but mostly staring off into space. It was hard to find any suspicious activity when there was no one out and about to be suspicious of. Hours passed.

"I should've said my mother was still sick," Tonks muttered. A cool wind had started up, which was not helping the state of things.

Around lunchtime, Tonks started making her way back to the Three Broomsticks. She was allowed a little break to eat and then she was to patrol until three, at which point she switched with Savage and did a sweep of the castle.

She was nearly there when she walked straight into a young man who had just come out of the old robe shop. He was fastening a thick cloak around his shoulders. It looked expensive, but Tonks admired his wise choice. Despite it being early November, it was frigid- most likely because of all the dementors running rampant.

"Sorry," she said, "I wasn't watching."

"Neither was I," the young man said. She looked up and met his eyes and suddenly gasped, finally recognizing him.

"Sorry," she said again. "You changed your hair and I wasn't used to seeing it like that." Teddy laughed.

"I'm thinking about making it long again. My ears are cold!"

"What are you doing down here?" Tonks asked, perking up. She was glad to have another chance to talk to Teddy. Perhaps they could even get lunch together.

"I was told to make the most of my time here," Teddy said, "by someone who was in a similar family situation. I decided that, since I can change my face anyhow, no one would recognize me and therefore it would be safe to come out." He looked at his feet a bit sheepishly. "I wasn't going to buy anything- you know, in case that would mess up something, the butterfly effect and all, but it was so damn cold I couldn't help myself."

Tonks looked at her watch. "Well, I get off for lunch in a few minutes. Walk with me and then we can eat together." Teddy grinned widely.

"Sounds good," he said. As they started off down the main street again, Teddy looked around. "I don't think I've ever seen Hogsmeade look so dreary," he stated. Tonks agreed.

"There have been a lot of dementors around recently. It's probably that," she said. "Anyway, I'm supposed to be on the lookout for anything suspicious so, you know-"

"Constant vigilance?" Teddy finished. Tonks raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, exactly," she said. "Is Mad-Eye still training Aurors in your time, then?" Teddy shook his head.

"Harry says it sometimes," Teddy said.

They walked together to The Three Broomsticks and hurried in to get out of the cold. Madam Rosmerta was behind the counter, talking to a patron in a long, dark cloak. She looked up as they walked in.

"Proudfoot was in here talking about you yesterday," she called out. Tonks made a face and pulled up a chair at one of the tables by the bar. "He always seems to mention you, somehow- bad things of course. He's got it bad."

"Well he better get over it," Tonks muttered.

"Yes, I can see that," Rosmerta said, eyeing Teddy up and down. They both blushed but didn't say anything. It didn't much matter when the explanation was about as believable as Tonks as a professional tightrope walker. She didn't bother to move past the bar to take their order. "What can I get you today?"

"Two Butterbeers, I think," Tonks said. "And I'll have a shepherd's pie."

"Oh, um, bangers and mash for me, thanks," Teddy said. "Proudfoot?" he asked as Rosmerta got them their drinks.

"A coworker," Tonks replied, waving her hand. "He's a complete and utter arse. Nothing's going on between us." She thanked Rosmerta and took a long gulp from her bottle. Teddy followed suit and took a gentle sip.

"Well yeah," Teddy said. "I'm friends with his son. He'd be about a year old now. It's just weird that…never mind." He wondered what Alex Proudfoot would say to that. He knew that his mum and dad were divorced but it was strange that he was hitting on his mum of all people.

"So how did you manage to sneak out?"

"Victoire was fighting with James again and Al and Lily were off entertaining each other. I just sort of…left." He shook his head. "She's probably so mad at me."

"I suppose things are very serious?" Teddy blushed and took a quick drink.

"I didn't think…We didn't say anything about it." Tonks winked at him. "Um…Yeah, it is, I suppose. Back in our time, we were trying to buy a house actually- only a little place in London so I could be close to work and the Potters."

"When's the wedding announcement coming out? Or has it already?"

"No, no we're waiting. I don't know why anymore, but I like the way things are and we have an understanding that it will happen eventually…I just want to pay for the damn house before we blow a lot on the wedding. Originally, we decided to wait until Victoire was done with healer training. Well, she dropped out." He laughed a little.

"Well maybe she was telling you something," Tonks said. "What is she doing now?"

"She's an artist, actually," Teddy said, "and is trying to get an apprenticeship. That's why we're looking for a real house now. There's no room in my flat to do much of anything, let alone set up a bunch of canvases."

"Here's your food," Madam Rosmerta announced as she brought the steaming plates to them.

"Have you seen Remus?" Teddy asked. "Molly said she expected him back at the house, but we didn't see him." Tonks blushed bright red and whished more than ever that she could morph. Teddy raised an eyebrow at her. The last thing she wanted to talk to her son about was sex with his father.

"Um, yes I have," Tonks replied, clearing her throat uncomfortably. "He stayed at my place, actually, and I'm not sure where he went after I left for work." Taking another look at her face, Teddy shook his head.

"I'm not going to ask anymore," he said decidedly. "I'm glad things are working out better, but there's no way I'm talking about that. Just, uh, I'm the only kid, you know." Tonks buried her face in her hands.

"Please, I do not need this talk from…" She looked around and mouthed at him, "my son!" Teddy laughed and took a swig of Butterbeer. Tonks's eyes widened. His laugh was just like Remus's, which was such a rare sound to hear.

Suddenly serious, he asked, "Is Remus mad at me? I know I was a bit rude to him yesterday. I really want to apologize, but I don't know if he'd want to see me…Maybe it would be better if I didn't?" Tonks groaned.

"Merlin's pants, you two are exactly like each other. He was the one being rude, first! He's probably agonizing about apologizing to you."

"Really?" asked Teddy. Tonks could see hope spark in his eyes. "Has he said anything about me? I mean, what does he think? I know we haven't talked much, but Harry always notices when I do things like him, so..."

"We did talk about you quite a bit." Tonks tried to think back to what they had discussed prior to…well, not talking about anything really.

When they were curled up together, wonderfully tired and sated, Remus had said something to her as she was falling into gentle, happy sleep. Pressing his face into her hair, he had murmured, "He seems like a nice boy." Tonks hummed in agreement. "I think it's safe to say we can be very proud of him."

"He said that it seemed that we could be very proud of you," Tonks said. "And he finally agreed that Hufflepuff was superior to Gryffindor…At least I think he did." Teddy laughed, but Tonks could tell that something was wrong. He pushed his food around the plate with his fork, redness growing in his neck.

"That's, um, that's good of him to say," Teddy said. "I'm…well, I hope he's right."

* * *

She and Teddy headed out on the rounds again, talking about little things. They laughed together and Teddy thought that he couldn't remember a time when he was happier. A chill went through the air and he pulled his new cloak tighter around his shoulders. His breath puffed out and froze in the air. Teddy suddenly stopped and put his hand out to stop his mum as well. She already had her wand out.

Further down the road, past the limits of Hogsmeade, there stood a figure looking frail under a thick bundle of layers. Above him was trailed the cloak of a dementor, blowing in the cold wind. His face lifted to the sky in a silent scream as the dementor fed on his happy memories.

It wasn't hard to think of a happy memory to use. Remembering that day's lunch and the long chat he had with his mum, Teddy waved his wand and said, "_Expecto Patronum_." Beside him, Tonks did the same and a pair of wolves, nearly identical charged at the dementor. The wolves chased it down, nipping and scratching at the folds of its cloak until it drifted away and disappeared. The victim of its terrible hunger fell to the ground and Tonks rushed forward to help.

"Stay back and watch the perimeter," she told Teddy. He wanted badly to go with her, but knew she would be safer this way just in case there was an ambush of some kind waiting. Wand out in front of him, Teddy scanned the area around them in a wide arc as Tonks tended to the dementor's victim.

He watched with awe as she helped the poor soul up and walked back towards Teddy. He could see now that it was an old man, bundled up with about half a dozen layers. Teddy stayed a little ways away, still watching Tonks's back as she escorted the old man into Madam Puddifoot's, which was the nearest shop that sold hot beverages. She emerged once again alone.

"Everything alright?" asked Teddy. He slipped his wand back into his sleeve. Tonks nodded.

"His name is Henry Chalmers and he was coming up to get a spot of dinner at the Hog's Head with a friend." She shook her head. "I hate those things," she said.

"Nice patronus, by the way," Teddy said, elbowing her playfully. Tonks grinned.

"Thanks. It's new. I used to have a very pretty jack rabbit and then Remus had to come along and screw me up emotionally and now I have that fuzzy little guy."

"I like mine," Teddy said. "I've always had her, but I never knew it was the same as yours."

"Same as Remus's too," Tonks said. "He doesn't like to produce a corporeal one in front of people because he thinks they'll find out what he is." She shook her head. "I've always worried he'd pull that trick and get himself the kiss of a lifetime. Anyway, I like this one too. It reminds me of him- both the wolf side and what he's really like, you know, because wolves are gentle unless provoked and very family-oriented."

* * *

When Teddy slipped back into the house, being as quiet as he could possibly manage, Victoire was already waiting for him, arms crossed, in the hallway. He stood stock still, like a deer sensing danger. She did not look happy at all. Teddy could already imagine the storm he was about to face. He'd seen her fight with her mum before.

"Um, hi Vic," Teddy said. And so it began.

"Edward Remus Lupin, you utter shit! I cannot believe you would tell us all 'lay low, stay inside and out of sight' and you go off without a word- not even a note- to Merlin knows where! You were gone for four hours and you don't even think to maybe let me know? In case you've forgotten, I'm the only Victoire Weasley around so you can send me as many damn patronuses as you bloody well feel like!"

Teddy stood silently, looking at his shoes, as she caught her breath, waiting for the next wave to come crashing down. It never arrived.

"She's right you know." Teddy looked up to find Victoire standing off to the side and Remus Lupin heading his way. Victoire raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say, '_There you have it. Let your father chew you out'_.

"Damn," Teddy murmured to himself. At the age of twenty-four, he did not think he would have his first telling off by a parent. The lunacy of the situation would've been funny if he wasn't so damn worried about making his father proud of him.

"There's a war, going on, Teddy, not to mention the time travel stuff. I know you probably figured, as a metamorphmagus, you could get away with things. More importantly, you need to remember that this time is not like yours and there could be Death Eaters around every corner." Teddy nodded.

"I know, sir," he said. Remus raised an eyebrow at him and Teddy shrugged in return. He didn't know where the 'sir' had come from either, but he didn't want to freak Remus out by testing the waters with 'Dad'. It didn't even sound right to him still. He'd never used the word to address anyone before.

"So where did you go, Lupin?" Victoire asked icily.

"Hogsmeade," Teddy replied. "I had lunch with Tonks…er…Mum, that is. I had lunch with Mum and then I patrolled with her and it was all very safe- only one dementor issue which was taken care of. Then she was supposed to switch duties with Savage, so I left. I didn't want anyone else to see us together and talk. Madam Rosmerta already thinks I'm her new guy."

"Oh," Victoire said, sounding as though she was suddenly deflated of anger. "Well then, I'll, um, leave you two." She retreated up the stairs, leaving Teddy and Remus to stare at each other.

"I want to apologize," Remus started. He motioned for Teddy to follow him, leading him down the hall to the library. The fire was already lit and the room was nice and warm. "I shouldn't have pushed you yesterday, but I was curious and selfish and wanted to see more."

"I understand," Teddy said. "Actually, I wanted to apologize for being so rude to you. I'll admit, I was a little angry with you because, from where I came in, it seemed like you were hurting Mum a great deal and, well, I happened to meet her first." Remus nodded.

"No, you're absolutely right," he said. "My motives were pure, but apparently I was doing more harm than good. Sit," he said. "I know you're not a werewolf- and that makes me unbelievably happy- but I hope you've never had to feel the stigma by being associated with me. I wanted to save Dora from that, as well as from any danger present with being with someone like me. Accidents can happen, even with Wolfsbane and I would never have been able to live with myself if I were to infect her."

"I suppose I can understand that, but…I think she knows her own mind, too," Teddy said.

The pair of them sat back in their chairs, staring into the fire a moment. Remus finally got up and offered Teddy a drink. He pulled out a bottle of firewhisky and a pair of glasses from a cabinet in the corner. He poured them both a little and handed one to Teddy.

"Normally I wouldn't, but we're having a bit of a heart to heart and I couldn't really go on without a little something," Remus admitted. They were silent for a little while, drinking together, before Remus said, "I know about what happens, you know, after you're born?"

"I thought you might figure it out," Teddy said. "And now you know why I didn't want you to sift around up there." He wondered whether he had really done the deducing or if Tonks had told him.

"Honestly, I was looking for a memory of all of us together," Remus said. Teddy laughed cynically.

"I used to look for those all the time," he said and took a drink. "But Harry and I stick together- he's my godfather, you know- and I've made it through well enough."

"I saw you were a Prefect," Remus said. "I was one as well in school. Dumbledore thought I would keep my friends in line, but that didn't really happen."

"I was Head Boy as well," Teddy said. "I think, originally, I was made Prefect so that I didn't lose Hufflepuff any more points wandering around at night. I showed you that memory, right? Well, as a Prefect, I was supposed to do that, so it didn't matter anymore."

They sat there talking for quite some time about school. Teddy told him about the new History of Magic curriculum, which included both of his parents as well as numerous other Order Members and Remus shared stories of misadventures with his friends, Harry's father, Tonks's cousin, and the traitor. Before long, Arthur came back from work and everyone was called in for dinner.

Teddy sat himself in between his father and Victoire and they continued their conversation in hushed tones, almost as if pretending that no one else was there. With Victoire's urging, however, he introduced them and Remus began to ask after her.

"Look at the hypocrite," James said stabbing peas with his fork. Teddy made a face at him. "You know next time take me with you at least. I'll leave you be with Tonks and we can meet up again later." Teddy shook his head.

"It's too close to the school," he said. If your parents see you, you'll be sorry. You look too much like your grandfather; Harry will think he's seeing ghosts again."

Remus nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time he's 'seen' James." James rolled his eyes.

"Has anyone ever told you you're exactly like your dad?" James asked. Teddy grinned and caught Remus's gaze. His eyes were shining brightly.

"Yeah, and I would hope they're right," Teddy answered truthfully.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the read, as always. Next time, Dumbledore shows up finally!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I was a bit worried about this chapter because I thought it was boring and then just a second ago I remembered another part that was in it and was like...yeah it's ok. So I hope you like it! Next chapter might be a bit low-key and whatever but Chapter 11...That one is one to look forward to!

Thanks to my lovely reviewers! They get hugs and kisses...unless you guys aren't into that. Then you get two thumbs up and a wink.

Life update: school is horrible but y'all don't care. I just felt like venting...

On with the chapter! Please REVIEW!

**Warning for mild really vanilla non-descriptive sexy-times near the end in case you're averse to that**

* * *

Chapter 9

Harry and Hermione walked into the Ministry together, heading straight to the Minister's office. Kingsley Shacklebolt was always very busy, but Harry would make sure that he'd make time to see them.

Throughout the years, there had been many elections, but with all of Kingsley's post-war reformations, restorations, and repeals the wizarding community decided that they would no doubt sink without him. And so, term after term, Kingsley was sworn once again into office and maintained the captainship of this vessel.

It was helpful, Harry admitted, to have an ally- and a good one at that- way at the top.

"Are you very worried about them?" Hermione asked. "I mean, they have Teddy and Victoire, who both have good heads on their shoulders."

"I'm not worried about them at all," Harry said, "except for James. I just know he'll do something harebrained and impulsive that we'll have to sort out as well."

Kingsley's secretary was an old lady with passionately greying hair and spectacles like magnifying glasses, who was kindly but rather useless, to be blunt. As the approached, she said something to them about making an appointment, frittering around with the papers covering her desk.

"Not now, Mrs. Hendrickson," Hermione said. "We're very sorry, but we have to dash." And then she hurried after Harry, who had thrown open the Minister's office doors.

Kingsley was sitting at his desk writing something when Harry opened the door. "Damn," he said as his quill slipped over the parchment, leaving a trail of ink across his otherwise immaculate writing. He looked up and, spying Harry, smiled at him.

"Harry, to what to I owe the honor?" he said, motioning for him to sit down in one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. His smile faltered as he laid eyes upon Harry's stormy expression. "Oh, and Hermione, welcome," he said upon seeing her as well.

"Kingsley, I need your help," Harry said, standing behind the visitors' chairs. Hermione took one of the seats.

"Well, I guessed as much," Kingsley said. "What's happened? I thought you were supposed to be in America at a convention."

"We came home early," Harry said. "And it's a good thing, too, because while we were gone, James decided it was a good idea to break into my office and smash a time turner. I know it was an accident, but he's old enough now to maybe not walk into every room like a hurricane."

"What was the damage?" Kingsley asked with a grim look on his face.

"1996," Harry replied. "The others were with him, and Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley as well."

"That's a problem, alright," Kingsley said. He shook his head. "I'll speak with the Unspeakables in charge of the time division. I know they're very invested in their research, but it might just be time to shut that sector down."

"I've been saying that all along," Hermione said. "No good comes out of playing with time." Harry cleared his throat, giving her a look. What about Sirius and her classes third year?

"Yes, well, things could've gone badly wrong," Hermione said with a sniff, "and you and Ron were right- I was taking far too many classes."

"Well, I don't know what else to do for you," Kingsley said. "I'll get in touch with the Unspeakables, but I don't know what else could come of that. I suppose we'll have to hope Dumbledore can get something started from their side…Hey, you don't think Teddy will be able to-"

Harry nodded. "They're at Grimmauld Place. I hope they're getting along well. Neither Tonks nor Remus were at a good place in that year."

"Well, it's something," Kingsley said. "Too bad it couldn't have come earlier for him, when he really needed it." Harry chuckled.

"I don't know. I'd take an experience like that. I wouldn't go searching for it anymore, but I'd gladly take it!"

Kingsley stood and shook first Harry's hand and then Hermione's. He walked them to the door.

"We'll figure something out," Hermione said as they left. "We always have."

As soon as they were past Mrs. Hendrickson again and on their way back out of the building, Harry turned to Hermione. "Any ideas about where we should even start?" he asked.

"Well…We could always go back to the place where this all started and see what we can find," Hermione suggested.

* * *

The next morning, Teddy, Victoire, and the Potters were seated at the table for another wonderful breakfast when Alastor Moody walked in the door of number 12, Grimmauld Place followed by a tall wizard in long blue robes with a silvery beard trailing down his chest and half-moon spectacles perched on his nose.

From the head of the table, Albus Potter stared at his namesake, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, with awe. Teddy had to admit, it was pretty impressive to see him after hearing so much about him and reading about him in books (not Rita Skeeter's one, of course). Teddy had spoken with the former Headmaster once when he was in the office waiting for Professor McGonagall and he had been rather wonderful- amazingly intuitive and with a soft, comforting voice. Teddy looked forward to speaking to him in person.

"Good morning, Albus, Alastor," Molly said. "Would either of you care for some breakfast? I've fried up quite a bit for this lot."

"No thank you, Molly," Albus said, his eyes glittering. "I think I'll have a spot of tea, if it isn't too much trouble."

"No trouble at all," Molly replied and hurried back into the kitchen.

"Alright you lot," Moody said. "Professor Dumbledore here just got back from traveling. He'll try to sort something out, so you might as well introduce yourselves."

Molly swept in and supplied Dumbledore with a cup of tea, chamomile by the smell of it.

"Hi, I'm James Sirius Potter," James said, standing. He waved slightly and then sat down again. "I'm Harry's eldest son. I was in Gryffindor, and now I play Chaser for the Falmouth Falcons…At least, I hope I still have a spot after all this leave…"

"What a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said in the voice that Teddy was so eager to hear again. He turned to Albus. "I suppose you are another of Harry's children?" Albus nodded.

"I'm Albus Severus Potter," he said shyly. Dumbledore chuckled lightly.

"Well, I truly am proud to share a name with you, my boy," he said. "And your middle name is also an interesting choice that I approve greatly of." Albus brightened at that.

"Most people hate it," he admitted. "They all remember Professor Snape as…unsavory… And it doesn't help that I'm a Slytherin."

"Yes, well, there is an old saying that goes 'Do not judge a book by its cover' that could be applied very aptly to my good friend, Severus. And you of all people would know that a House does not dictate the type of person one grows up to be." He touched a finger to his nose and shared a conspiratorial look with Albus and then turned to Lily. "And what is your name?"

"Lily Luna Potter, sir," she answered. "I'm a fourth year in Gryffindor."

"Another Lily, how wonderful!" said Dumbledore. "It seems that Mr. Potter grows up to have three wonderful kids, although they may have his father's knack for trouble." He turned to Victoire. "You must be the Weasley," he said.

Victoire blushed. "I'm Victoire Weasley," she said. "I was a Gryffindor in school and a Prefect as well."

"Brilliant- as expected from a child of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour." Victoire looked like she wanted to ask how he knew, but she closed her mouth again and waited for Teddy to make his introduction.

"And last but not least…"

"Edward Remus Lupin," Teddy said, "But everyone calls me Teddy. I was a Hufflepuff in school and a Prefect as well as Head Boy. I'm an Auror now."

James rolled his eyes. "He's such an overachiever."

"You take after both of your parents, then," Dumbledore assessed. "I met your father when he was eleven years old. His parents didn't want to send him to Hogwarts, but I persuaded them that we had all the proper precautions in place especially for him and that he would be taken care of. Remus is a powerful, powerful wizard, but most do not see past his lycanthropy."

"Mum did," Teddy said with a smile.

"Yes, Nymphadora is an extraordinary witch. The whole Order believes Remus a good man. It's a good place for him." He looked seriously at Teddy with those piercing blue eyes. Teddy squirmed slightly, wondering if the wizened old wizard was somehow looking into his very soul. "Is there anything else you would like to tell me that may be of assistance?"

Teddy reached into the collar of his jumper and pulled out the time turner. He slipped the long golden chain off his neck and passed the necklace to Dumbledore. "That's how I got here," he said. Dumbledore held it up for a quick examination before slipping it into his robes. He nodded his thanks to Teddy.

Dumbledore looked towards Moody, who was sitting at the other end of the table, waiting. "Well, Alastor, I will be back around to check on things. Meanwhile, I will attempt to discover a way to reverse the magic that took you here. No doubt your parents will be doing the same."

"Is that all, Albus?" Moody asked.

"I think so, for now," Dumbledore replied. "But, really, these are very engaging children. I wish we could have more time, alas, it is quite tricky and even more dangerous to play with." He stood. "Thank you for the tea, Molly."

And just like that, Albus Dumbledore swept away, followed by Alastor Moody with his usual limping gait. The front door closed behind them and then they were gone.

James let out a breath. "That was wicked," he said. "That was absolutely crazy! To think, we met Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard ever to walk the planet!"

"Aren't they calling him 'the Greatest Wizard of the Twentieth Century'?" Victoire asked. James shook his head.

"They've got to give him more centuries than that! I mean, please, who else can match up to Dumbledore except Merlin himself? And we can't honor Dumbledore by using his name as a swear; that would just sound ridiculous."

Lily shook her head. "You're absolutely nuts," she said. "But I though Professor Dumbledore was lovely. I wish we could've had him as a headmaster!"

* * *

Remus Lupin arrived at Nymphadora Tonks's front door approximately five minutes early. He contemplated knocking, and then contemplated waiting, which resulted in that he waited about a minute and then knocked.

"Just a minute!" he heard her call from inside.

Nymphadora had owled him that afternoon, wondering if he wanted to stop by for dinner. After everything that had transpired and the talk he had with Teddy, Remus of course wanted to see her, but he wasn't so sure about the dinner part of the arrangement. In all the time he had known her, which admittedly wasn't very long, he had never seen her cook a meal and, knowing how she was in Molly's kitchen, he wondered if it would be good for her to even try.

So, in preparation for dinner at Nymphadora Tonks's flat, Remus brought a bottle of wine to be polite, a first aid kit to be safe, and a menu for the local Chinese restaurant should things go irreclaimably south. He wouldn't mind take-out, but he rather hoped the first aid kit would remain in its shrunken state in his pocket.

"Wotcher, Remus," Tonks greeted him as she opened the door. Her hair was her natural dark brown, and much healthier-looking than other recent permutations. He was of course glad that he had some hand in at least getting her back to her natural healthy look, but was equally worried about her morphing ability still being gone. Still, she looked beautiful. Remus thought that she could wear a paper bag and he would still think her beautiful.

"Hello," he replied. "You look very beautiful, by the way, Nymphadora." She blushed and touched her hair self-consciously as she stared down at her old jeans and jumper, murmuring a 'thank you' quietly. He held out the bottle of wine. "I didn't know whether to go with red or white so I just got us some desert wine instead."

"Very nice," she said, taking it. "I'll chill it, yeah? And we can have it with the chocolate cake." Remus's ears perked up.

"Chocolate cake?" he asked. She laughed.

"Dinner first," she said, leading him to her dining room table. It was newly cleared of the usual clutter that often inhabited the surface. Remus felt oddly touched that she felt the need to do that for him. On the table was a yellow paper menu unfolded in front of them. He laughed. It was the same one he had brought as a back-up.

"You know I can't cook," Nymphadora huffed, her arms crossed over her chest. "Get whatever you like. I have enough Muggle cash, so don't worry."

Then ended up deciding to split an order of chicken Lo Mein and each got a cup of soup- wonton for Remus and egg drop for Tonks. She called it in while Remus looked through her drink cupboard. She had a lot of Butterbeer and some Muggle beer he'd never heard of. He picked up a bottle.

"Sorry; I still have the tastes of a seventh year," Tonks said, looking over his shoulder. "You don't want to drink that, by the way. I can't stand the stuff anymore."

"Then why do you have so much of it?" Tonks shrugged.

"I'm not proud of the reason why I bought it. It was more of a matter that it was cheap and alcoholic. Then I realized that the stuff was entirely undrinkable and began to shell out the money for actual booze instead of that horse piss."

They drank from Butterbeer bottles as they waited for the food to arrive at the flat.

"Maybe we should've just gone out," Tonks said, "but I prefer just talking here where we don't have to worry about who is hearing."

"Oh I agree," Remus said. "I talked to Teddy yesterday."

"Good," Tonks said. "He was worried he'd made a bad impression with you."

"Ah yes, we went through the apologies already. And he was chewed out rather badly by both me and Miss Weasley for escaping the house." Tonks laughed.

"I hope you weren't harsh with him. We had a nice time. You know, I think we should have a dinner all together like a family at least once before he goes. It's the least we can do, just to give him a memory." Remus nodded, suddenly looking distracted.

A family dinner…that sounded imposing to him. But he was sure that they could work something out. In any case, it would be good for Teddy. Remus was still astounded that the young man he had met was his future son. It was true that neither he nor Tonks had actually raised him, but a strange sense of pride flooded his chest as he thought about his son- an Auror, Prefect and Head Boy. He seemed to be a wonderful, upstanding young man and without a hint of lycanthropy.

A knock sounded at the front door and Tonks hopped up to answer it, grabbing the wad of Muggle cash off the table. Remus watched her as she greeted the delivery man and struggled a little with the Muggle money and how much she was supposed to tip. He couldn't believe that they would one day marry. He couldn't believe that he would have such amazing good fortune.

"What are you thinking about?" Tonks asked as she brought the brown paper bag of food back. The smell of grease and hot noodles wafted through the air, immediately making him hungry.

"You, actually," he replied. Tonks raised her eyebrows at him and tried her best to appear seductive as she sat across from him on the floor. The food was placed on the table in between them. Remus chuckled at her noble attempt. He didn't think she had elicited the desired effect, but he thought she was very cute. She frowned.

"Guess that didn't work, did it?" she said. "Oh well; I guess if you're as clumsy as me, you just can't quite get 'sexy' down right." She pulled out her soup and a spoon.

"Oh, I've seen you pull off 'sexy'," Remus said seriously. Tonks coughed, choking somewhat on her soup. Her face grew red, and he didn't think it had anything to do with airway constriction.

While they ate, both of them veered into safer, more neutral conversation material. Their hands brushed as they divided up the food and the both of them ingested most of that bottle of wine. By the time Tonks announced that they could finally have that chocolate cake she had mentioned, Remus was feeling deliciously warm.

Piece of cake in hand and class of wine on the coffee table, Remus opted to sit on the same side as Tonks, both of them leaning against the couch. She didn't say anything about his change of seat, but he thought she had smiled a little.

"What is it?" Remus realized that he had been staring again. In all honesty, he was trying to picture them having a baby together. He was trying to picture Tonks with a growing stomach, about the pure love they would feel as they looked down at their beautiful, healthy baby boy.

"Frosting," he said absently. He reached up to brush the bit of chocolate from the corner of her lips with his thumb. Tonks let out a shaky breath. Remus tried to meet her eyes, wondering if she wanted anything to happen that night, but her own were focused lower than his eyes. He leaned towards her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

It was funny how things seemed to run together in a delicious blur of pure ecstasy. Remus couldn't remember where their clothes had fallen or who had really started the little push that turned quickly into an avalanche from which they could not return. In his hazy, sated state, he found that he didn't much care.

He remembered happily how Tonks had kissed him deeply and tugged his shirt off his shoulders, how they rolled together on the bed, limbs tangled. He remembered how every gasp and every moan seemed to shoot through him, how his heart jumped as she whispered his name against his lips. He remembered the deep kiss they shared as they came undone together.

Tonks was curled up in his side like she was made to fit there perfectly. His arm was thrown over her and he traced patterns absently on her back as she dozed, a small smile on her cupid's-bow lips. He brushed an errant piece of hair from her cheek and traced his fingers down her face. He loved the play of firelight on her cheekbones and how her eyelashes splayed against her light cheeks. He loved her cute little nose and the slope of her neck. He loved her.

Remus yawned contentedly and his eyes began to close. As he fell into deep slumber, his cheek fell to rest on her head.

_The forest was dark, but Remus could recognize it instantly. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and he reached for his wand, only to find that it wasn't there. Strange, he thought, as a jolt of fear rocketed through him. A howl broke the air- not quite wolfish, but not entirely human either. _

_There was a rustling amongst the trees and every muscle in Remus's body tensed, ready to jump at whoever was approached. Greyback stumbled out of the forest, followed by a couple of his cronies. All of them had wildness in their eyes, a mark of giving over completely to the nature of the night. He and his pack were hardly human. _

_Greyback approached Remus, his lips peeled back to display sharpened teeth. Remus gulped, but stood his ground. _

_"__I've got a surprise for you," Greyback whispered to him. He stepped aside so that Remus could watch another werewolf bring in a squirming, kicking bundle. He dropped it on the ground. Remus realized it was a woman and a shock went through him as she raised her eyes and he found himself staring at Nymphadora Tonks. _

_"__No," he breathed. His heart thundered loudly in his chest, jumping uncomfortably against his ribcage. _

_"__Oh yes," Greyback said. He stalked back and forth in between Remus and Tonks. "Isn't she a prize, boys?" The other werewolves muttered their agreements, eyes all trained on Tonks. Remus clenched his jaw, overcome with the urge to slug them all- and worse. _

_"__Take your eyes off of her, you beasts!" he wanted to yell, but his voice was constricted with fear. _

_"__We found her in a little village near Hogwarts," Greyback said. "And I thought, wouldn't dear Remus Lupin be pleased to see his bitch?" Greyback grabbed ahold of the hair near Remus's temple and forced his head back to that he had to look into Greyback's eyes. "Well, are you?"_

_Remus didn't answer. _

_"__We thought you might like to be the one to do the honors." Greyback grinned savagely and swung his arm upward for Remus to see. _

_The moon above them suddenly filled as if colored in. He watched with horror as the crescent grew into a full moon and he began to feel the pull to change. Tonks's eyes were upon him as he was forced over with pain. The bones in his legs snapped and he cried out, falling to the ground. Greyback and the others watched him with sadistic glee._

_On the ground in front of him, Tonks looked at him with horror and, for the first time, he saw pure undiluted fear in her face as she looked upon him. _

_"__I'm so sorry, Nymphadora," he murmured to her and he arched his back in pain, feeling the final changes come over him. Remus Lupin dissolved as the wolf took over and pounced. _

Remus woke up in a hot sweat and sat up straight. He pushed his damp hair off of his forehead and searched the darkness for the scene he had just witnessed. There were four walls around him. A sliver of light poked into the room from the nightlight Tonks kept in the bathroom. Remus looked beside him to find her fast asleep, curled up in the sheets peacefully.

Remus dropped his head in his heads, thankful at least that he hadn't woken her. Noticing that he was still naked, he got up and attempted to locate his boxers. He found them by the end of the bed and slipped them on. He started to pace, trying to work the images he had seen from his mind.

It had been one of the more horrific dreams he had had about Nymphadora, and the one that seemed to plague him the most. It came in different forms- sometimes they were at Grimmauld Place or her flat- but it was always the same thing. The moon would suddenly grow full and he would lunge, biting at her throat.

He would always wake before his fangs sunk into her flesh. That was at least some consolation.

Remus slipped into the ensuite bathroom and splashed water on his face. It was dark in there still, as it was the middle of the night, but the small star-shaped nightlight provided enough illumination for him to examine his reflection in the mirror above the sink.

_What are you doing_, he thought to himself. He leaned his forearms on the edge of the sink and splashed water on the back of his neck. Cool rivulets ran down his back and dripped off of him. Back in the bedroom, he could hear Tonks stirring.

"Remus?" she said sleepily. He remained quiet, hoping she would go back to sleep. He wondered if he would be able to locate all of his clothes and slip out of there. Tonks stretched her arms out and, finding an empty space where Remus should've been, sat straight up. She lit her wand.

"Merlin, you scared me," she murmured as she spotted him still hunched over the sink in the bathroom. He knew the reason why. The last time they had slept together, in a fit of passion and pent-up longing, she had woken up multiple times to check that he was still there. Remus had counted them. He hadn't slept a wink that night.

"Are you alright? You aren't feeling sick, are you?" Remus shook his head and took a steadying breath before walking back to the bed. He climbed in and pulled Tonks into a tight embrace. Her head was warm against his chest. He hoped that his heart had calmed enough to not sound irregular.

"I'm fine," Remus assured her. "Bad dream is all." Tonks raised her head to look at him seriously.

"What was it about?" she asked. Remus shook his head and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Nothing to be concerned about," he replied. "You should go back to sleep." Tonks sat straight up at that, holding the sheet over her bare chest to get rid of that potential distraction.

"Remus, please," she said. "I'm here to help you. Let me in." Remus gave her a sad smile.

"Don't worry about me, Nymphadora," he murmured to her. She gave him a put-out look but settled back down again, this time with her back facing him. Remus rolled over so that he was facing the same direction and tentatively put his arm around her. She snuggled closer and laced her fingers with his.

"I wish you would trust me," she whispered, her voice breaking, and then she closed her eyes. Remus's stomach roiled with the knowledge that he had made her upset again.

_I do trust you_, Remus thought as he nuzzled his nose into her sweet-smelling hair. _I just don't trust myself_.

The next morning, Tonks got up at the sound of her alarm and went about her morning routine mechanically, as if Remus wasn't there. Remus watched her for a few minutes from the bed, wondering if she was still very angry at him for what had happened the previous night.

"I'm making tea. Do you fancy a cup?" Tonks asked as she breezed past him, shrugging on her Auror robes.

"That would be nice, thank you," Remus replied. He slid out of the bed and made it up neatly before finding the rest of his clothes (his pants were pushed in a corner of the room, his shirt out by the couch) and dressing again. Tonks stirred cream and sugar into their teas and passed Remus a cup when he entered the kitchen area.

"Look, Tonks, about last night," Remus began, but Tonks shook her head, cutting him off.

"You don't have to say anything," she said. "I want everything to be better between us so much, but I know that it'll take time. But you need to try to meet me half way if this is ever to work."

"I still don't see how it will," Remus muttered. He avoided elaborating with another speech that would just make Tonks even angrier with him. That didn't make it any less true. Remus could not understand how she was so unwilling to see that she would be doomed to a life of poverty and ridicule with him. Maybe that life wouldn't be very long, but she would still share in the scorn of wizards all around and the dangers that he faced.

"That's because you think too much," Tonks said. The corner of her lips lifted slightly. "There's a meeting tonight. We'll talk about the dinner with Teddy then." She put her cup in the sink and stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to Remus's cheek. He raised a hand to press her closer to him, but she had already moved away and his fingers only grazed the small of her back.

"Have a good day, Nymphadora," Remus said. As she left, he set to the washing up.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the read everyone! I'm realizing that a lot of this fic is very un-actiony so thanks for sticking with it. I dunno...I always like to see relationships between characters and explore bonds and stuff so that's the kind of stuff I'm interested in.

Hopefully I'll see you all next week! Actual action in t-minus two weeks.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Just a short interlude before some action next chapter :) I'd write more and shit but I'm fucking pissed off soo...make me happy and review?

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Chapter 10

_The night was unsettlingly quiet. Teddy stood on one of the ramparts the surrounded the courtyard, watching as witches and wizards- most younger than he- ran through the grounds, wands out and robes flapping. The sound of footsteps on the flagstone echoed hollowly. _

_In the distance, there was a rumble more sinister than thunder. With a bang, the sky was set alight and the protective enchantments glowed under the pressure of the attack. Teddy watched as each impact set colors running across the sky like the northern lights. It would've been a beautiful display if it wasn't a sign of imminent death and destruction. There was a sound like shattered glass and a war cry and Teddy ran. _

_He passed the blurred figures of allies around him, positioned to defend the castle from their places at the windows. He ran down the flights of stairs almost as though he was floating. There were so many- more than he ever remembered there being at Hogwarts- before he finally made it to the entrance hall. He threw the doors wide open and looked around. _

_Bursts of color soared across the lawn and disappeared into the night. One flew in Teddy's direction. It hit the wall beside him with a loud crunch upon impact. Teddy drew his wand. Teddy knew he had to find him. He plunged into the night and into the heat of the battle. _

_Death Eaters and Order members, students and teachers were scattered across the lawn, each locked in their own battles. They appeared faceless to Teddy as he searched for him. He ran; the constriction in his chest and the burning in his legs unheeded. He heard an icy cackle, and the hair on the back of his neck rose. _

_Bellatrix Lestrange was easily identified by her great piles of curly black hair and her heavily-lidded eyes. She looked so much like Andromeda, but a dark, twisted version. Looking past her, Teddy caught sight of his mother, her pink hair flashing. And beside her was his father facing the Death Eater Teddy knew as Dolohov. _

_He felt as though time had stopped for him, though everyone around him kept moving. He tried to get his muscles to move, but not matter how fast he ran, he could not make any ground. He tried to raise his wand, but found that his hands wouldn't obey him. His mouth refused to say anything. _

_They fell- first Tonks and then, with an anguished cry, Remus. And Teddy was suddenly off as though released finally from the shackles that held him. His yell echoed in his ears as he tried to reach their crumpled bodies. _

His cry echoed in his ears, though only a memory, as he sat up. Sweat matted his hair to his forehead. It had all started again. He closed his eyes and passed a hand over his sticky face, willing the images to leave his mind.

* * *

Andromeda Tonks was used to dry spells in which she would hear very little from her grandson now that he was living in a flat with his girlfriend. On one hand, she was allowed plenty of time to relax in her old age. On the other hand, the house was empty and silent without the colorful boy that reminded her so much of her late daughter.

After a couple weeks of not seeing Teddy, though, Andromeda decided to invite him and Victoire to dinner. She was starting to become like Molly Weasley with all her worrying about his eating habits and the cleanliness of his living quarters. After penning a quick note to Teddy, she gave the letter to the family owl, Fez, and sent it on its way.

Deciding to do a bit of cleaning to distract herself, Andromeda set to work. She flicked her wand over the picture frames that occupied the mantle, gazing at them nostalgically. Some showed Teddy as a child with chubby cheeks and ever-changing hair. Others showed the boy grown-up with Victoire in his arms or laughing with Harry or his school friends. Andromeda paused with a sad smile and picked up a framed photo of her daughter with Teddy in her arms. Remus was beside her, looking at them both with such love in his eyes Andromeda could feel her heart nearly bust.

Life after the war had been difficult to say the least. Her husband and daughter had left her alone with a newborn grandchild who didn't even realize yet that he would grow up without his parents. The happiness marked by the end of the war was marred by the endless string of funerals. She attended each out of a profound respect for those who fought at Hogwarts and who had contributed to the cause- Fred Weasley, Colin Creevey, Remus and Nymphadora Lupin…She watched as each was lowered into the ground one by one in then brand-new Cemetery of Heroes at Hogwarts.

She couldn't lie. Raising Teddy was very hard for her. He reminded her of so many things. She also wouldn't give up that experience for the world. Her grandson was her world, her everything and she was still rather protective of him even though he had entered adulthood many years previously. He would always be her little boy.

It didn't take long for Fez to return through the open window, letter in his beak. He ruffled his feathers in what Andromeda assumed was annoyance. The little owl, which had been in the family since Teddy's fifth year at Hogwarts, always had a bit of a colorful personality, which had been what attracted the boy to the bird.

"That was awfully efficient, Fez," Andromeda mused to the old tawny owl. Fez dropped the letter and shuffled worriedly, his little owl claws poking holes in the upholstery of the couch. Andromeda picked up the letter and her brow furrowed.

"Fez, why didn't you deliver the letter to Teddy?" she demanded of the owl. Fez looked up at her with eyes that almost looked as if he shared her worry and confusion. She swallowed, trying to keep herself from jumping to the worst conclusions.

_It's probably nothing_, she thought. But it was a strange occurrence indeed. After all, Teddy was supposed to be off work.

"Well, it's time to find Harry, then," Andromeda muttered. She headed straight to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder.

"12 Grimmauld Place," she said after stepping into the fireplace. She threw the powder at her feet and disappeared in a flash of green flames.

* * *

The Order gathered together in the dining room, the same as they usually did. Molly was bustling around. Arthur was fiddling with some Muggle contraption that Dedalus Diggle had dropped by with, and Mundungus Fletcher was looking shady as ever, counting out a bit of money in a corner.

Teddy wished he could've joined them, but then he would have to explain his entire story to the other members. He had even tried to convince Moody to let him join in disguise, but the grizzled old Auror was adamant that he, like Victoire and the Potters, were to remain upstairs and out of the way.

So, naturally, he, Vic, James, Al, and Lily, sat in the boys' room together trying to come up with a way to listen to the meeting. They found a couple Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products in the back of the wardrobe in the room, but the left-over Extendable Ears looked like defunct models and hardly worked.

"If only we had the cloak," James said. He was, of course, talking about his father's personal invisibility cloak, which he didn't let them use.

"It'd be hardly big enough for two of us," Lily said. She leaned over to murmur in Al's ear, "Especially with his big head." Al laughed and Teddy joined him, hearing Lily's dig.

Eventually, they decided that the best and only course of action would be to sneak downstairs and try to listen through the door. Teddy cast a quick charm on the ground that would muffle their steps. It was one of his favorites, considering how much he had to use it on his Auror missions. After slowly making their way down the rickety steps, all in a line, they crowded around the closed door and strained to hear.

"…got to keep an eye on those," a man said. The slow, deep cadence betrayed that the speaker was Kingsley Shacklebolt. "It's a shame we can't spare more people for surveillance missions."

"I've been tailing Rodolphus for a couple months now and…" Albus shifted beside him and Teddy lost the last part of what was said about the notorious Death Eater.

"Shut up," James hissed to his brother, whacking him on the arm. Teddy rolled his eyes and tried to concentrate.

He felt a bit silly, really, sneaking around trying to listen in on a top secret meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. Still, he was far too interested in what the meetings were like to care much. He only worried about Moody, and hoped that he was distracted enough not to have 'constant vigilance' on the area just outside the door.

"We have marks on Avery and Mulciber," Moody was saying in his gruff voice. "But they haven't seemed to be up to anything recently. Things are too quiet for my tastes."

"How has the Hogsmeade shift been for you, Tonks?" Kingsley asked.

"I'd rather watch paint dry," Tonks said. "I've seen all the kids during Hogsmeade weekends, but that's the only highlight. No one's coming to Hogsmeade to make trouble. It's too close to Dumbledore."

"And should we hear about Remus and the werewolves?" There was a beat of silence broken only as someone, presumably Remus, cleared his throat.

"They are hostile," he said in his quiet, measured voice. It was so soft Teddy had to hold his breath to better hear. "They believe that the deal they receive under you-know-who is better than anything we have to offer. War means chaos and, on the side of the Death Eaters, that means they have free reign during the full moon. I think it best to stop trying to recruit and instead focus on surveillance."

"Good work, Remus," Kingsley said. "We all know this isn't an easy assignment."

"Any word on Dumbledore?" a female voice asked. Teddy knew it wasn't Tonks- possibly Hestia.

"He is continuing to impart wisdom to Harry that he will need in order to move forward. Don't ask what it is. That remains between the two of them and the two of them alone." There was a general murmur at that.

"Well, if that is all," Kingsley said.

Teddy turned to the others and mouthed 'Go back' to them. They all crept back up the stairs and down the hall as the door to the dining room opened. Teddy ushered everyone back into James and Albus's room as the first Order members began to depart.

"That was more boring than I thought it would be," James commented. Teddy shook his head.

"I think it's cool," he countered. "This is something real- more so than pricks selling expired potions at a street corner or, or Dark artifacts exporters taking up in Knockturn Alley. This is history in the making, James!"

"And we should all be glad that the Order is disbanded again," Victoire said pointedly, giving Teddy _that look_. He ignored her, feeling a spark of life inside of him. He felt like he had filled a piece that was missing during all his years as an Auror. He felt like the people in that room were actually making a difference, fighting true evil.

"Don't they have dinner together after the meetings usually?" Lily asked as she flopped down on Albus's bed.

"I think, yeah," Victoire answered.

"So how are _we_ going to get dinner if _they_ are all still there?" There was a general murmur of annoyance.

After waiting around for a half hour, there was a knock on the door. Teddy got up to open it only to find Kingsley Shacklebolt on the other side, looking curiously at him.

"Hello, M- Kingsley," Teddy said. He cursed at himself internally for almost calling him 'Minister'. That would've been a shock.

"Oh, so you know me," he said with a smile. "Well, most of the Order is gone now, so Mad-Eye's decided that it's safe for you all to come down for dinner and, since I haven't met you all yet, I wanted to be the one to get you." Teddy grinned at him and opened the door wider so that he could see the others.

"Well, we are glad to accept your invitation to dinner, right everyone?" Teddy said.

"Ugh, finally," James said. "I was starving."

They all trooped down the stairs together and took seats at the dining room table, right where the Order had met previously. Kingsley was asking Albus and Lily about themselves, looking absolutely enthralled with the existence of the Potter children. Teddy sat down next to Remus but kept his eye on the Potters, hoping they wouldn't let slip anything about Kingsley's prestigious job.

"We heard that Moody wouldn't let you sit in on the meeting," Remus said.

"It was a stupid thing to ask, but I was curious," Teddy replied.

"But I suppose you listened anyway?" Remus's eyes seemed to sparkle. He seemed to look younger with his eyes like that even though his hair was speckled prematurely with grey. Teddy winked at him but didn't elaborate. Their methods hadn't been elegant, but it turned out to be effective.

"Anything you have to add to our musings?"

"That would be telling," Teddy said. He sighed. "I want to help, but I know I can't."

"No," Remus agreed. "It's best that you stay here."

"And it's best that I keep my mouth shut, too," Teddy added. "Though I'd like to tell you all what to do."

"Wotcher, Ted," Tonks greeted him as she pulled up the chair on the other side of him. Teddy grinned back at her, loving how happy she seemed to see him.

"Hello," he said in return. "How was your day?" She rolled her eyes.

"Proudfoot and Savage are insufferable gits and I spent an hour in the Hog's Head discussing proper goat care with Aberforth. Did you know he's Dumbledore's brother? Anyway, he knows far too much about goats for his own good." Teddy chuckled.

"Aberforth is a nice guy, though," he admitted. "He's got an interesting past even though he isn't as well-known as Dumbledore." Tonks raised an eyebrow at him and he elaborated. "I used to clean glasses and things on Hogsmeade weekends for a bit of money. It wasn't ever for long, though. There are better things to do in the village."

Teddy was not surprised to find a gorgeous dinner in front of him, nor was he surprised to find himself holing away three helpings of the stuff, as if he was still a growing adolescent.

"Better watch your figure, Teddy Bear, or you'll have some extra stuffing," James teased from across the table. Teddy looked up at him and morphed his face so that his cheeks and eyes were hollowed gauntly. He would've looked like a walking skeleton.

"Good enough?" he asked, letting the morph fall away. "You're one to talk anyway." He watched as James piled another heap of mashed potatoes on his plate.

"So Teddy," Tonks said, "Remus and I were thinking about having a dinner together- just us three or Victoire as well if you would like- before you all have to go. What do you think?"

"That sounds nice." Teddy nodded and turned his attention to his plate.

He didn't want to think about his inevitable return home. He wanted to make this place home; this place where his parents were alive and they could be together. It was almost as if he had fallen through the Mirror of Erised. At night, he could picture himself here aiding the movement against the Ministry and Lord Voldemort alongside his parents. As a boy, he'd had recurring dreams of saving his parents during the battle and since he had arrived at Grimmauld Place, they had returned.

"Nymphadora, is that your mother's patronus?" Remus suddenly asked. Teddy looked up to see a glowing silver crane landed on the table and turned its head towards Teddy.

"Oh no," Teddy muttered.

"Ted," Andromeda Tonks's voice said. Teddy let out a sigh of relief. Not hearing his full name meant she was only a little upset. "Harry told me what happened. I just wanted to remind you that this is not a chance to redo things. You are needed back here and you will come back even if I have to drag you here myself. Stay safe, honey."

It was scary how she was always able to do that. It was like she could read his mind. He glanced over at his mum, whose mouth was hanging slightly open.

"She sounds so much older," she murmured.

* * *

A/N: Actually interesting stuff to come. Stay tuned! Thanks for the read.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: A lot happens in this one! Like seriously this one is so long. It's got some cursing and the most vanilla sex scene in the history of sex scenes. If you're averse to cursing, how did you even get so far in this story? If you're averse to the sexy sexy, just skip the end. But seriously I'm not even going to change the rating- that's how tame it is. (Yeahh...Idk how to write smut and especially not with these characters and it was my first try and don't hate it too much)

In other news, costumes in my show are shit hard to do and I'm going to get a fucking aneurysm by the time it's all over. Acting is less horrible though.

Anyway...Thanks for all your support everyone! Continue to review because I would love you forever!

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Chapter 11

Teddy looked at himself in the mirror and morphed his hair. He shifted through the usual assortment of hairstyles he used, unable to decide. He could see Victoire watching him from and used her expression to help with his choices. Long hair- she made a face. He made it shorter. Green hair…Her eyebrow raised. He changed it to blue.

Teddy didn't know why he was so damn nervous about a dinner with his parents. As he fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, Victoire joked that he didn't even spend that much time getting ready for their dates, to which he responded by tickling her sides lightly until she danced away and hopped on the bed.

She had, oh so helpfully, transfigured his clothes to another clean set- this time it was a pair of brick-red chinos and a button-up and cardigan.

"Vic," Teddy said. His eyes met hers in the mirror. "I want to thank you for putting up with me for the past few days." Victoire looked at him a bit strangely, but she gave him a little smile.

"Well, gosh, Ted. I've been putting up with you my entire life." He shook his head and turned around to look at her properly.

"No, you know what I mean," he murmured. "With all of this stuff with my parents, I've been a bit selfish. All I wanted to do was spend time with them and I didn't ask you how you felt about all of this or anything."

Victoire got up from the bed and walked over to Teddy to wrap her arms tightly around him. He smiled a little and hugged her back, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Don't apologize for anything, Teddy," she murmured to his chest. "I want you to enjoy this time as much as you can and I want you to make plenty of memories and ask them silly questions and tell them about all the crazy things our families do. You deserve all that and so much more."

They rocked back and forth together as Teddy moved his face to rest in the crook of Victoire's neck. He breathed in deeply, fighting the urge to cry. Victoire only murmured soft comforts in his ear and kissed his neck gently. Teddy returned the gesture; pressing warm, open-mouthed kisses to her collarbone before moving up to capture her lips.

Teddy was immediately comforted to feel Victoire in his arms, warm against his body. Her hands rested against his shoulders, stroking gently as he teased her mouth open to deepen the kiss. She made a noise of appreciation and he smiled against her lips, dragging the lower one into his mouth. Teddy wondered at how anyone could feel so perfect, as if she was made for him. He wrapped one hand around her waist and used the other one to caress her cheek, tilting her head so that he could kiss her deeper.

Victoire's hands wandered through his hair and he sighed as her fingernails scratched his scalp. She kissed along his jaw and down his neck. Teddy closed his eyes, wanting to lose himself in her touch.

"Marry me," he murmured. He leaned forward as Victoire withdrew from him, missing the touch of her lips.

"What?" she breathed. Teddy opened his eyes and cupped her face with his hands. His heart was pounding a vicious beat in his chest. He gazed into her eyes and smiled somewhat shyly, suddenly a bit embarrassed about his sudden declaration. He hadn't planned on doing this (really he had pictured something more elaborate- like a scavenger hunt or something fun like that), but he was certain then and there that he was ready and he didn't want to wait anymore.

"If you would like to, I would very much enjoy marrying you, Vic," Teddy said. A pause the space of a heartbeat passed before Victoire jumped back into his arms, wrapping her own tightly around her neck. Teddy pressed her close to her chest and they stood nose to nose, eyelashes brushing cheeks.

"You're absolutely daft, Teddy Lupin," Victoire said and her voice sounded choked.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he laughed. Victoire kissed him with enough passion to warm him instantly from the inside out. When they broke away, they rested their foreheads together and giggled quietly to one another.

"It means 'you already know I'd say yes a thousand times, you silly man!'" Victoire told him. He reached up to remove her hands from his neck and lace their fingers together.

"I love you so much," he said, feeling as though he wanted to sing or faint at the same time. His head seemed to be spinning, and the only way he knew to anchor himself to the world again was to pull her into another kiss.

As they parted, Victoire laughed at him while Teddy looked at her, utterly lost.

"Teddy, your hair," she said in between giggles. He turned back to the mirror to find that his hair was a swirl of yellow, green, and blue, like bad tie-dye. It was a nicety to say that it made him look peaky.

Teddy fixed the problem relatively quickly, finally settling on an unassuming shade of blue and turned around to display his handiwork.

"Much better," Victoire approved.

"Are you sure you don't want to go? I wouldn't mind at all- honestly," Teddy said. He sat down beside her and stroked her thigh.

"I'm sure," Victoire said. "This is your quality time with your parents. You can come back and we can have our own quality time." She looked at him bashfully from under her eyelashes and Teddy nearly growled.

"What, with James Potter across the hall?" Teddy questioned, but he leaned in close to her again, unable to help himself. "He'd never let us live it down."

"I'll think of something, I'm sure," she promised, and sealed it with a kiss.

* * *

Teddy couldn't picture his mother's flat, so he apparated to the street it was on. He was vaguely familiar with it, and so had to count the numbers on the buildings to find the right one. Then, because it was a Muggle area, he buzzed in and was soon let in to the lobby where he took the stairs to the fifth floor. It wasn't a very modern building.

By the time he got to the right floor, he was ready to sit down and have a drink. He looked around the landing briefly, smiling politely to the little old lady who was going out to post a note on her door. She did not smile in return but looked at him suspiciously instead. Teddy shrugged as she slammed her door shut and made his way to the flat across the way. He knocked.

He heard footsteps. And then there was some stumbling, a crash, a curse, and a murmured spell. Finally, it was Remus who opened the door, a smirk lighting up his face. Behind him, Teddy could see Tonks examining a broken glass.

"Good evening, Teddy. Come on in," Remus said. They shook hands and Remus clapped him on the back as he closed the door.

Teddy felt a bit like he had stepped into a lemon, if lemons were crowded with a hodgepodge of furniture. The walls were sunny yellow and the couch, which was the first thing to attract Teddy's attention, was a bright green, which continued the citrus tone embedded throughout the flat. With the various nick-knacks everywhere, there was a sort of chaos to the room, but it looked as though someone had at least made an effort to clean up.

"Wotcher," Tonks said. She set the broken pieces down on the coffee table and pulled Teddy into a hug.

"Do you mind if I look around?" Teddy asked. Tonks gave him the 'ok' and he set off; eager to learn whatever he could from the flat. Living quarters were unsurprisingly very helpful in determining things about people.

As he wandered around the living area, looking at the pictures that were set out, Tonks and Remus finished up the dinner, seeming to pass teasing banter between them that made Teddy smile to listen to. He recognized a few things from his old bedroom back at his grandmother's house- the wireless, for one, and many of the records.

"Want to choose the music?" Tonks asked him. Teddy sifted through the albums, looking for one that he knew would be there. She had a lot of Weird Sisters and a lot of Muggle rock as well. Finally, he pulled out the one: The Clash's London Calling album. He put it on and the vocals of Joe Strummer lit up the flat.

Teddy slipped into the kitchen where Remus was stirring something and Tonks was looking at it rather suspiciously.

"Are you sure?" she asked him. Remus looked a bit exasperated.

"I don't know how to cook," he said. "I nearly failed potions." Tonks put her hands on her hips.

"Okay, first of all potions and cooking are two entirely different things. If we're judging cooking skills on potion class grades, I'd be a grade 'A' chef." Remus snorted at that and she hit him on the shoulder immediately.

"Anything I can help with?" Teddy asked, smirking.

"I dunno," said Tonks. "It should be ready soon- just some spaghetti and sauce. I don't think we can manage much more than that."

"Not sure we can manage even this," Remus muttered. With a laugh, Teddy strode forward and grabbed a spoon from the open drawer to take a taste. He thought for a second.

"Needs a bit of salt," he decided, "but otherwise, it's good." Remus brightened a little at that and gladly shook in a bit of salt. They all then grabbed plates and loaded up with spaghetti noodles and the sauce and sat down at the table.

"You like this music?" Tonks asked. Teddy nodded. "I would've thought it would've been old in 2022. I mean, they broke up a decade ago." Teddy shrugged.

"They were old a while ago, but I grew up with this. I have literally the same record at my flat." Tonks's mouth dropped open a little at that.

"Did you keep all of them?"

"Oh yeah," Teddy said. "The Weird Sisters albums are actually worth quite a lot now. And it's just plain good music. Also, the wireless is still working well. Arthur even helped me charm it so that it gets all the Muggle radio programs as well."

"Well bugger me," Tonks said. "I never thought of asking him." Teddy looked up at her sharply.

"You can't now, remember?" he said. "I have to do it in the future, er; well I did it already when I was fourteen."

As they continued to talk about music, Teddy learned that Tonks had gone to school with the members of the band and that their bassist was a Hufflepuff. It was strange how he had never thought to look. Remus was less keen on that 'horrible noise', but admitted to listening to The Clash and The Ramones when he was in school.

"I'm more of a Beatles man, myself," he said.

"Oh, I love them too," Teddy said. "I have all their albums as well."

The pasta was a little underdone and the sauce still tasted a little off (so Teddy drowned his noodles in shredded cheese and cleared the problem all up), but he found he didn't much care because it was a meal cooked for him by his parents. Tonks pulled out a bottle of wine which they cracked open and toasted each other. She was particularly bubbly, such a contrast from when he had first met her. Remus looked quietly content and his eyes sparkled.

After the album finished, Tonks got up and put in her favorite Weird Sisters album and Remus tried to understand their appeal (also why they were called the Weird _Sisters_).

"Oh, I didn't find this one in your box of records," Teddy said offhandedly as he tapped his foot to the beat of their first single- Ghouls on the Hogwarts Express.

They slowly migrated to the living room where Tonks sat on a lumpy purple armchair that clashed horribly with the walls while Teddy and Remus sat on the couch.

"So, how's my mum?" Tonks asked as they settled in. She was casual about it, but Teddy wondered whether she wanted to know something a bit more personal.

"She's well. I don't visit nearly as much as I should nowadays," Teddy admitted a bit shamefully. "But she's got plenty to do with the house and a gorgeous garden. She still goes to all the Weasley gatherings, too." Tonks nodded.

"Well, good; I'm glad she's still getting on. And what about my dad?" she asked. Teddy looked away.

"He, uh, he passed," he finally said. "I'm sorry." He hoped she wouldn't ask for details. He didn't want them to all get upset. Tonks merely nodded, biting the inside of her cheek thoughtfully.

"You didn't have trouble getting a job or anything, did you?" Remus asked, still worrying about how Teddy was affected by having a werewolf for a parent, albeit a dead one.

"Not at all," Teddy said. "No, legislation against werewolf discrimination was passed…oh, in 2001 I think. It was one of the first things the new Minister wanted to tackle, as it's rather personal to him."

"You're making me curious about the Minister of Magic in your time. You aren't going to give us a clue?"

"No. But he's been reelected so many times it's basically like he's been given the position for good."

"Okay, let's think about this," Tonks said. She sat forward and met Remus's eyes. "Who do we know that could make a good Minister for Magic? It's probably someone loyal to Dumbledore…Maybe someone with experience in the Ministry, a natural leader, likable…"

"Well I suppose it's not Alastor, then," Remus said with a chuckle. "Amelia Bones would've made a good candidate, poor woman." They seemed to be running short of candidates already.

"Well Kingsley is getting pretty high up in the Auror Office," Tonks said. Teddy pretended to examine his shoes, hiding a smile. "Speak of the devil." An owl was knocking on Tonks's window that apparently belonged to the aforementioned Auror.

Tonks took the letter from the owl's beach and it flew away without waiting for a reply. Her eyes scanned the contents of the missive and she cursed under her breath.

"And he knew what was going on tonight, too," she muttered, throwing the letter on the kitchen table and striding into her bedroom. She came out with her Auror robes hanging on one arm and her winter cloak hanging on the other.

"What did he say?" Remus and Teddy were both on their feet.

"Death Eaters were spotted in the forest outside of Hogsmeade, one of which was Bellatrix Lestrange." Teddy could hear her snarl at the name of their dear Black relative. "They want extra guards by the station there. I'm sorry, Teddy, but duty calls."

"Well, we're coming too," Teddy said, "right?" He glanced at his father. Remus nodded.

"I'll help," he said. "There's no use in setting up only guard there. And the others will have their hands full." Tonks nodded and Remus grabbed his own shabby cloak. Teddy reached for his by Remus caught his arm.

"Go back to headquarters," he said. Teddy furrowed his brow at him.

"No way," he protested. "I'm an Auror too. I've done things like this before."

"No you haven't, Teddy. From what you've told us, the world is entirely different. There are no rules here. The Ministry can't be trusted and Unforgivable Curses are thrown around as if they're cleaning spells."

He couldn't explain it to them- the need he felt to do something. He needed to experience this world his parents lived and died in. He wasn't really sure of the exact reason why, but he wanted nothing more than to face the Death Eaters alongside his parents. He wanted to understand what they went though. He wanted to understand why they hadn't defeated their opponents…Why they had to die. It was childish, but he wasn't about to change his mind.

"Then I'd better go and make sure both of you are safe," Teddy said. "I know where the sighting was. There's no way to stop me from going." He skirted around Remus and threw his cloak over his shoulders. Tonks was waiting by the door, staring at them oddly.

"You are so stubborn," she commented as Teddy joined her.

"He gets it from you," Remus said, not at all happy at losing. Tonks smirked.

"Funny; I was going to say the same thing about you." They all filed out of the flat and, one by one, turned on the spot and materialized again on the platform of Hogsmeade Station.

* * *

It was dark and the wind howled eerily. There was only one light on in the ticket office, which was manned by a small wizard with very magnanimous whiskers along his cheeks. He looked rather like a mouse in a suit. Tonks strode over to him, wand by her side and spoke to him in hushed tones. His eyes seemed to widen and he scurried around the ticket office before locking it up.

"I haven't seen anything," he said. "It was quiet today as usual."

"Thank you for your time," Tonks said. "You'd best be getting home, now." He nodded and bowed to her graciously, stepping away to apparate.

"Fennel Quigley," Tonks said. She stood next to them, but was not looking at them. "Sweet little old man- wasn't even alerted to the fact that there was a Death Eater running around up here."

"Well, he'll be quite safe at home," Remus said. He nodded in the direction of the school. "I'll go this way. You and Teddy take the other and meet back here?" Tonks shook her head.

"I'm going to have to find Dawlish or one of the other Aurors and report in. It would be better to be seen alone. I'll do a sweep down there and go into the village. You and Teddy go around up there, circle back, and hopefully I'll be back by then."

Teddy and Remus nodded and they all headed off. Teddy swept his eyes across the empty platform, his wand gripped tightly in his hand. Beside him, Remus's eyes were trained on Tonks's retreating form. He only faced front when she had been swallowed by the night.

"You didn't want to walk with me?" Teddy whispered. He spun at the sound of scuffling, only to find a bird passing overhead.

"I didn't want Dora to be alone," Remus corrected.

"She does this all the time. I'd suspect she does far more dangerous work." Remus nodded in agreement.

"That doesn't mean I can't be worried for her," he said. "With all of these assignments- guard this, spy on them, etc. etc. - we haven't had a chance to duel at all. The last time was at the Ministry and that didn't turn out well for her." Teddy bit his tongue. He wondered if he would change much by telling his father to practice.

_"__We should go over Dolohov's fighting style,"_ he wanted to say. _"I'll train with you. I'll make sure you're in the best shape you can be to defeat him."_

He stayed silent.

They reached the end of the platform without incident. There was a set of stairs that led to the dirt road that led to Hogsmeade Village if you took the low road and Hogwarts School if you took the high road. The school was a long distance away. Only a couple lights could be seen in the windows. Otherwise, the old stone castle made a beautiful silhouette against the clear sky. The moon looked large and nearly full, a glowing orb that would retreat into darkness only to grow large once more and contort the figure of his father.

"It's a shame the next full moon's on Christmas Eve," Teddy said. He thought he saw Remus flinch at the mention of his condition. "Sorry, I don't know why I brought it up."

"It's alright," Remus murmured. They circled around the buildings at the back of the station before heading back the way they came. Teddy lit his wand and inspected a few possible hiding spots, though he knew there wouldn't be anyone there.

"How was the last one?" Teddy found himself asking. "It was with the other werewolves, wasn't it?"

"I don't like to think about it much," Remus said. They were back on the platform, starting the slow walk back. "They don't have supplies of Wolfsbane and they run free during the full moon. It's terrifying." His voice was like a whisper of wind. Teddy shivered despite the warmth of his cloak.

"I'm sorry," he said. The words worked twofold. He wanted to express sympathy for his father's pain, but he was equally sorry that he had forced Remus to talk about such a personal and uncomfortable topic for him.

"The next one will be better, though," he said. "I'll have another break for Christmas, so I'll lock myself up somewhere."

"Shh," Teddy said. He held his wand up and listened, willing his eyes to further into the darkness. He thought that he had seen something across the tracks. Remus watched him, equally on guard.

Teddy motioned quickly to him and jumped down onto the tracks. The gravel crackled under his feet though he tried to move quietly. In the distance, he saw the swish of a cloak. He set off at a run. He could see the figure, wrapped in a black cloak but with wild hair dancing everywhere, and he was closing in.

A spell was shot in his direction and he raised his wand to deflect it, immediately sending a stunning spell that way in return. It was blocked as well and the figure advanced. She stepped into a pool of light created by one of the few dim lamps and Teddy nearly growled upon seeing that it was really her.

Bellatrix Lestrange looked even crazier than the pictures made her out to be. Her curly Black hair stuck out in all directions and she tottered as she walked as though drunk with her madness. Her wand was balanced casually between her fingers and her eyes gleamed with the sort of craziness that presented itself in only the most delusional of criminals.

It was like a nightmare come to life. He was at least thankful that his mother wasn't there with them. Teddy wasn't sure if he'd have been able to handle it. As it was already, he felt nearly incapacitated with the strength of all the emotions that coursed through him. It was a twisting in his stomach. It was the tightness in his chest.

"Who do we have here?" her voice drawled. Remus had finally caught up with Teddy and appeared just beside him. "Ah, the werewolf!" she cried. "Who's the little boy?"

"I'm everything you hate," Teddy snarled at her. She cackled, advancing another step. Teddy raised his wand higher, with more conviction.

"Well then I'll have a lovely time killing you, dear," she said. She stood jauntily, as though she were drunk with the madness that twisted her mind. Teddy began the duel with a silent disarming spell, which was easily blocked. Bellatrix sent something of a darker nature his way and Teddy deflected it without batting an eyelid. He knew that she was simply toying with him, and it made him angrier than he wished to admit.

_Fuck you, Great-Aunt Bella_, Teddy thought, and they began to engage one another is a dance as they hurled spells back and forth with increasing intensity. Teddy glanced to the side and saw that his father's wand was raised, but he was looking in the opposite direction. He couldn't devote too much attention to whomever Remus was facing, however, because Bellatrix was relentless.

Bellatrix's eyes seemed to light up more as the battle went on, delighting in the sport. As the duel grew intense, Teddy found himself backing towards the barrier that lined the tracks, almost tripping over the rail. Bellatrix sent a flash of green light at his feet, making Teddy jump. He stared at her, wide-eyed and breathless as she cackled.

He sent spell after spell at her, trying to catch her unawares just once, but nothing was working. She was too wild, too quick and was sending such a strong offensive his way that Teddy found himself constantly on the defensive. Teddy could feel his whole face go red as he grew angrier and angrier with all his bad luck.

_I just want one hit_, he thought, _one hit to avenge my mother_. He added to that, _and maybe one more for Sirius just for good measure_.

Behind him, Teddy could hear a cry, sharp and startling. The voice was deep and gravely and most definitely not Remus Lupin. Teddy chanced a glance backward to see a great blond brute of a Death Eater clutching his leg. He turned on the spot and disappeared. Another one, who had a thin, angular face and closely shaven hair, followed suit, leaving Remus Lupin alone and worn but alright.

In front of Teddy, Bellatrix wound up to deliver a strong curse. Teddy braced himself for impact, but was pushed away. He stumbled and hit the barrier as he saw his father fall to his knees. Teddy growled at Bellatrix, an animalistic sound that shocked even him, as he advanced towards Bellatrix. Watching his father collapse in front of him was worse than all the nightmares combined.

The fire in his veins propelled him forward. She watched with mild amusement, which only served to make him angrier. He had never felt hate so intense in his life. It was burning him from the inside out. He uttered a spell he never thought he would use.

The Cruciatus Curse missed by a hair's breath.

"I wonder if you really meant that you, dearie," Bellatrix mused. She laughed madly as she turned on the spot and disappeared. Teddy crashed to his knees on the ground and pulled at his hair. His hand found a rock beside him and he chucked it into the dark.

"No!" he yelled, knowing that she was long gone and far away. Hot tears of anger streamed unbidden down his cheeks. He felt strong arms pull at his shoulders and he went willingly, his wand still clutched in his fist, his grip turning his knuckles white.

"You couldn't have done anything, Teddy," Remus said firmly. Teddy vaguely registered the fact that his father was obviously alive. "You can't change the past."

_But I can!_ Teddy wanted to scream. _I'm here, aren't I? Can't I do anything? _Teddy's gaze was still fixed on the spot where Bellatrix had been before. He could see the charred dents in the concrete barrier where his spells had missed. All of them had missed. He could hear hurried footsteps come up from behind them.

"I could see the fight from the distance. What happened?" Tonks asked, sounding thoroughly breathless.

"I battled Rowle and Dolohov; I injured Rowle and the both of them left. Teddy had a run-in with Bellatrix." Quieter, he added, "He's a bit, well…I don't know why he's reacting so badly to her."

"I do," Tonks said. Remus released Teddy's arms and suddenly Tonks was in front of him. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace and Teddy hugged her back.

"I just wanted…" He shook his head. "I don't know what I wanted- some sort of revenge. But I couldn't do anything. All the spells I fired missed. And maybe that's how it's supposed to happen, historically, but I was just so mad. She's such a-"

"Pureblood-loving twat?" suggested Tonks.

"Yeah, I guess," Teddy agreed. He hesitated before admitting, "I tried the Cruciatus Curse. It missed, but I think it might've actually worked. I meant it. I wanted to hear her scream in pain so badly." He was shaking a little. He balled his hands so that it was less obvious. "I never thought I'd descend to such…"

"No," Tonks said. "It was righteous anger. You wanted her to suffer because of the things she did. That sort of emotion doesn't fuel an Unforgivable Curse and you know it." Teddy let out a breath and nodded. He turned to Remus.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "I saw you go down. You took that curse for me."

"I'm fine," Remus said. "It wasn't much of anything." Teddy raised an eyebrow at him. He was leaning a bit strangely, as if it pained him to stand upright, but he figured that he shouldn't press the subject there.

"Still, Teddy said, "it's more important that you live than me. It's how history has to play out so that I'm born and we don't have a paradox on our hands." He saw Remus open his mouth to protest. He still didn't look happy about Teddy's argument that he could die there without consequence.

"Come on," Tonks said. "Remus will never stop thinking he has to save the whole world. Bloody Gryffindors and their bloody nobility," she rolled her eyes. "Let's go into the village."

It was a long, quiet walk, but by the time they all arrived at the Three Broomsticks, Teddy had started to calm down. As the anger left him, he began to feel weariness that seemed to seep into his bones. He was tired physically, and also in his heart.

Tonks went in first to make it seem as if they weren't together. Remus and Teddy followed. Madam Rosmerta looked absolutely frazzled as they walked in. A group of Aurors was already sitting in a corner, seeming to discuss a plan of some sorts. Tonks was just joining them.

"It's like you lot don't even know the hour," Rosmerta said. "I suppose you'll want Butterbeers as well?"

"That'd be lovely, Rosmerta," Remus said politely. He directed Teddy to stand back with him as they watched the group surreptitiously. There was Proudfoot with his short-cropped dark hair and thin patrician nose, Savage with his mop of sandy hair and beard to match, Dawlish with his lazy looking eyes, and even Kingsley, who gave Teddy a look in return. The earring swung from his earlobe.

"We ran into Bellatrix, Rowle, and Dolohov on the train tracks," Tonks said. "There was a duel in which Rowle was injured. We were unable to capture any of them, obviously, and they escaped. We were unable to gain knowledge about what their intentions were or if there were any others."

"Oh well," Kingsley said. "They'll all go down one day. We'll make sure of it."

_Not without taking a whole wake of others down with them_, Teddy thought bitterly.

Tonks sat down with them, talking strategy, as Remus and Teddy tried to overhear as best as they could from the other end of the establishment. They sipped their Butterbeers and remained mostly silent and Teddy wished only for a long, dreamless sleep.

The Aurors all left first. Proudfoot and Savage went to their rooms overhead. Kingsley and Tonks walked outside. Remus and Teddy waited a beat and then followed them. Kingsley and Tonks stood together a couple shops down. They beckoned to Remus and Teddy, who hurried right over.

"Tonks says you had a fine duel with Bellatrix Lestrange," Kingsley said to Teddy. A muscle jumped in his jaw but he nodded anyway. "If only we could use you to round everyone up. But I suppose that isn't in the history books."

"No," Teddy said. "I suppose things have to run their course." He glanced at Tonks. "And Bellatrix lives past this night, unfortunately."

"We'll have to tighten security around here," Kingsley said with a sigh. "There aren't enough Aurors for this. If only we could clone ourselves," he chuckled.

"What about MLE agents?" Tonks asked. "They'd be a nightmare to work with, but if we need more bodies-"

"They have enough on their plates already," Kingsley said. "That's why people like Arthur have been getting promotions like they were free. I'm not trying to belittle Arthur, I mean, but his job wasn't exactly the most necessary of positions."

"Are you staying for a shift as well?"

"No, I have to return to the Muggle Prime Minister," Kingsley said. "Scrimgeour will send Briggs and Ledbetter down here for the night shift."

Teddy started to tune them out. Again, he wanted to volunteer his help, but he knew they wouldn't let him. After all, if he had only been a little bit quicker, he might've been able to change history. Then what would happen?

"Should we get going?" he heard Remus ask and he began to listen again.

"I ought to stay here," Tonks said. "We'll be called for morning shift around five." Remus nodded. His hands were in his pockets, but he looked like he wanted to reach out to Tonks or something. Teddy stepped away with Kingsley.

Teddy decided that the future Prime Minister looked suitably badass in this time period. Back when he was from, Kingsley could often be seen in a suit and tie, his earring put away. With his rugged robes and the fang hanging from his ear and his dark, intense gaze, Teddy thought he could be from a Muggle action movie.

"I think I should let you know that Dumbledore has been looking for a way to send all of you home, but he hasn't made a breakthrough yet." Teddy nodded.

"Well, it's Dumbledore. Everything could change tomorrow." He didn't want to get his spirits too high. "I should get back to Grimmauld Place. Hopefully we'll be able to say goodbye."

"Oh of course," Kingsley said. "I'd love to speak to Harry's kids again as well." He held out a hand to Teddy. "You seem like an alright Auror," he said. Teddy half-grinned as they shook hands.

"Going?" asked Tonks. Teddy nodded and held out his arms. Tonks hugged him tightly and placed a kiss on the side of his head. He suspected that she couldn't reach the top even on tiptoes. "You were very brave," she told him and then she let him go. Teddy disagreed with her words, but he didn't think she was being false when she'd said them. Teddy turned to Remus and they hesitated for a breath before Tonks said, "Merlin's pants, just hug him!" to Remus.

"I'll see you later," Teddy said to them, more as a command than a hope. He refused to leave without properly saying goodbye.

Then he turned on the spot and ended up in front of 12 Grimmauld Place again. It was nearly one in the morning when he walked in.

* * *

There was a bedroom on very end of the second floor, as far away from the other occupied rooms as was possible. It had been cleaned out for use back when many more Order members were staying at Headquarters. As he walked up stairs, careful not to make any of the steps creak, Teddy was pulled down the hall by the front of his shirt until the door was closed safely behind him and a silencing charm was cast over the room.

Victoire pushed him onto the bed, kissing him deeply. Teddy held her close to him, encouraging her to straddle his lap. She complied happily and rested there, kissing his lips sweetly.

"You're very late," she said. Teddy pressed a kiss to her forehead, cupping her face in between his hands.

"Tonks got called out to Hogsmeade after dinner. Remus and I went with her. We had a run-in with Bellatrix Lestrange." Victoire gasped.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Teddy looked away, nodding slowly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Teddy said definitively. He looked up the see Victoire nodding, understanding clear in her eyes. She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand and lowered her mouth to kiss him gently.

Teddy could feel every muscle in his body begin to relax as he drifted away, lost in Victoire's touch. He wanted to forget. He needed to forget. He needed distance from what had happened and the anger that had flooded him so purely and intensely he was scared to know that he was capable of such emotion. He needed to remember that he could feel love, too, and the sweetness and delicate touches that come with it. He needed Victoire to teach him again.

Teddy's fingers drifted over the skin of her stomach as he pushed her shirt up slowly. She was so soft and warm. His hands traveled up further until he brushed against the undersides of her breasts. She made a little sound against his lips and moved her arms so that Teddy could pull the shirt over her head. He discarded the garment at the end of the bed and returned his hands to her sides, touching her everywhere.

They moved together in this familiar dance as clothes came off, piece by piece until they were both stripped bare, lying next to each other breathing hard. Their eyes met, both alight with want and Teddy turned her on her back, resting himself comfortably between her legs. Her knees raised and he kissed her deeply, continuing down in a path from jaw to neck to chest. She arched into his touch, her hands moving from his hair to his back.

He kissed up from her knees to the insides of her thighs and she let out a frustrated moan as he skirted teasingly around the place where only he was allowed. Her hands fisted in his hair as his lips finally delved where she needed them most and he felt a thrill run through him as she quivered with every touch.

Coming back up, Teddy kissed her hip gently; traveling back up the path he had taken down until he captured her lips again. One of her legs wrapped around Teddy's backside and she leaned up to cover his lips with hers. Their moans were stifled in the kiss as he finally entered her.

"So beautiful," he murmured against her neck.

As Teddy collapsed on top of her, bones weak with satisfaction, his mind was blank. It was so gloriously blank and unmarred with anything but a deep affection for the woman who was cradled under him, the woman who was stroking his hair so tenderly, that he thought he might cry again.

He moved off of Victoire so as not to crush her, but they remained close, their legs tangled together and their fingers entwined. Teddy leaned back into the pillows and closed his eyes. He listened to their heartbeats and the sound of their breathing, still slightly raised after their exertions. Victoire pressed a kiss to Teddy's shoulder and he looked down at her lovingly.

"Talk to me, Ted," she said. Teddy turned his face away from her. Just as he was beginning to truly forget and slip away into sleep, she had brought it all back again.

It was the laugh. It was her eyes. It was the fact that he was related to that enormous bitch. He saw his father fall to the ground before him. He saw the thin face of Dolohov. He clenched his fists under the covers, out of sight of Victoire. She stroked his shoulders, pulling him closer to her and he finally rolled over to face her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"It's okay," she whispered to him as he fought tears. He felt so childish, taking staggered breaths as his cheeks grew wet. Victoire wrapped her arms around him and kissed his hair.

"It's so bloody unfair," Teddy finally breathed out. All the anger had returned to his voice. "It's so bloody unfair."

"I know, Ted," Victoire whispered. "I know. I wish I could fix everything for you."

* * *

A/N: So that's all folks! I hope everything made sense. I've edited little pieces of this so many times I don't even know anymore.

Leave me a review and stay tuned for next time.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Hey guys. Sorry for the lateness.

Anyway, this chapter es muy importante. It's near the end of the story...There's only four more chapters to go after this! So tell me if you want me to do another story. I've got a few ideas floating around. I'm kind of interested in doing an action-y auror-based fic (obviously about Teddy) but I've also got ideas for RLNT and TLVW. Just tell me what you want and I'll see what I can do.

Now go forth and read the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 12

"Where were you?" James asked, a smirk settling across his face, as they sat down for breakfast.

"Nowhere," Teddy muttered. He hadn't slept well at all. The whole night had been plagued with dreams of cackling women in dark alleys. He saw his parents mown down over and over again. The first time, it was in the courtyard of Hogwarts. The next, it was Hogsmeade Station. And he could only watch, unable to move.

The worst of the dreams was the one in which he could move. He could perform magic, but no matter how hard he tried, no spell would work. Every charm and spell appeared as if in slow motion, with as much power as a first year student. He abandoned his wand, knowing it was useless, and instead tried to throw punches like a Muggle would at the masked Death Eaters. He could not touch them.

His eyes were red and refused to morph back to normal. His hair was slate grey and he didn't feel bothered enough to change it. Molly sent him a worried look over the plate of bacon she forced upon him, but Teddy hardly had an appetite. Beside him, Victoire had a similar expression. She kept one hand on his knee and ate with the other. Teddy was thankful she was sitting to his right so she didn't call attention to the gesture of comfort.

As they were all trooping from the dining room to the kitchen to help with the clean-up effort, the front door opened and Dumbledore walked in. Teddy saw him and his heart dropped further. His time had run out and they were all going to be sent home to their normal lives.

"Good morning, Albus," Molly said. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Good morning to you as well, Molly," Dumbledore replied. "I've come by to speak with the children. I have made a few developments with the help of Mr. Potter and Mrs. Hermione Weasley from the year 2022. They are as lovely as ever."

"That's so lovely," Molly said, probably imagining a future of little grandkids and her children all growing older. "Go along, you all," she commanded. "I've got everything set in here."

Dumbledore led the way back down the hall and into the drawing room where everyone crowded on the various pieces of old furniture. Dumbledore took one of the armchairs and watched the children from behind his half-moon spectacles, his fingers steepled in front of him.

"I've managed, as you've all probably realized, to figure out a way to turn Mr. Lupin's time turner into a device that will reverse its route and bring you all back. I'm sure you will all be quite pleased to learn you will not have to go through the old-fashioned way."

"What's that, sir?" Lily asked.

"Living through the years," Dumbledore replied. Lily laughed.

"Well I am glad for that, then," she said.

"Are you going to make us leave now?" Teddy murmured. Dumbledore's eyes alighted on him and Teddy immediately felt as though he knew everything that had happened between this time and when he had first talked to them.

"No, I don't think so," Dumbledore replied, "but the sooner the better. Why don't we prepare for a 5 o'clock departure?" Teddy nodded somberly.

"Is there anything we have to do, sir?" Albus asked, "I mean, in preparation."

"From one Albus to another, I think you will be fine the way you are," Dumbledore replied and Albus grinned.

As Dumbledore stood up to leave, he pulled Teddy over to the side. Victoire sent him a loving look as she left with the Potters. Teddy remained on the couch feeling rather like a naughty student with Dumbledore standing in front of him, his hands clasped in front of him.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me, sir?" Teddy finally asked, a bit unnerved with Dumbledore studying him.

"I wanted to know how you felt about this, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore said. He sat once more in the armchair. "You, I believe, are of the unique position that you will not have a couple people who love you here waiting for you when you return there." Teddy blinked at him.

"I would like to remind you, Mr. Lupin, that to live in a memory is no life at all. This trip must have been hard for you. But do not dwell on the loss of what you have only recently discovered. Instead, remember this as a small chance to get to know them. You are lucky, Mr. Lupin. There are many who surely would like to have the same gift bestowed upon them- Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom, for example."

"I came here to try to protect James, Albus, Lily, and Victoire. I knew I wouldn't be able to get them back myself, but I wanted to make sure that they were okay. Maybe in the back of my mind, I wanted to be here too…I wonder now if that's the only reason I did what I did, because the only thing I've done here is defy my own rules to spend time with them."

"Ah, but is that not love?" Dumbledore asked. He stood and this time Teddy stood with him.

"Sir," he said. "I just wanted to ask, how did you know about my parents?" Dumbledore merely looked at him meaningfully and swept out of the room. Teddy went to the door to watch him go, but the wizard was already gone.

With only a small window of time left to him, Teddy took the stairs two at a time and burst into the room he had been staying in. There was an old desk pushed in a corner. Teddy shifted through the drawers until he found some old paper and a quill and ink.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself as he sat down and got straight to work.

_"__Dear Remus and Nymphadora Lupin,"_ he started.

* * *

The Grim Haunt had nothing to do with a hulking, black spectral dog. In fact, it was called thusly because centuries ago the Grim family bought what was then known as the Golden Cauldron because it was a regular haunt of theirs. For decades thereafter, the pub was graced with all sorts of customers, some of the darker sort. No one was turned away as long as the peace was kept. As such, many werewolves were known to pass through it.

Remus Lupin sat at a table in the corner, nursing a Firewhisky that he only bought so as not to draw suspicion and waiting for a certain werewolf to walk through the door. Though he was on a brief reprieve from living with the pack, he was still obligated to remain in contact with those he'd been able to turn. He didn't have many allies amongst his own kind, but those who did know about Remus's true loyalties were the sort that would never betray him.

The old brass bell that rang out the entrance of customers jangled dully. Remus looked up and watched as a thin man with dark, matted hair and shaggy, patched robes shuffled to the bar and ordered a Butterbeer. Remus knew that the true mark of a werewolf, at least one trying to fit into wizarding society, was not the scars or the flicker of beast that was sometimes present behind the eyes, but the state of that individual's wardrobe.

Poverty was a mark harder to hide than the jagged and grotesque lines that covered Remus's abdomen like a series on unwanted tattoos.

Likewise, the werewolf at the bar recognized a kinship of purses in Remus and meandered over, slipping into the seat across from Remus. He took a drink from his bottle and they stared at each other for a long moment in silence before the other werewolf spoke.

"They'll be on the move soon," he murmured, his lips barely moving. Dark stubble shadowed his jaw and his eyes shifted around him anxiously. "When are you returning? He'll be suspicious."

"Soon, Conroy," Remus replied, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "There are a couple…developments…I need to see to before I can go back." He thought of Tonks and Teddy. He wondered if he could ever bring himself to face the shame of rejoining the pack under the eyes of his son- the son that was so perfect and untainted by the world even at his age.

He wondered at the thought of the world in which Teddy Lupin had grown up in. From what he had pieced together about the future from their various talks, Remus was picturing a sort of paradise free from prejudice. He could hardly imagine it at all- a world in which a werewolf could get a job and was freely assisted in the obtainment of Wolfsbane Potion. But, no, he had visited such a world before in his dreams.

"Does that mean you've reconnected with your family?" Remus's eyes shot up and stared at Conroy, startled. The other werewolf raised his dirty hands and lowered his head in submission. "Sorry, mate," he said. "It's just that you've got that look about you."

"I could never really do that," Remus muttered. "Greyback would relish a chance to rip everything with even the slightest significance away from me."

"You should at least pretend you agree with him on some matters." Conroy looked serious.

"He'd never believe it. He knows more than the rest. He's just keeping me around because I'm interesting to him."

The two werewolves spoke briefly of the events that had taken place during the previous full moon. Greyback hadn't enacted a specific mission that night, thankfully, but another couple wizards were bitten and immediately absorbed into the pack. Remus shook his head. The pack grew bigger with each full moon and he didn't want to think about the children and families he'd been unable to save from the jaws of Greyback.

"What do they seem to think about the situation?"

"They're scared," Conroy said simply, "but who wouldn't be? They're shaken and they're familiar with Greyback's reputation so they aren't likely to go against anything he says."

"Such is the shame," Remus said. "Most aren't in it for the supposed benefits but because Greyback is ruthless and has direct connections to You-Know-Who now." Conroy grimaced in agreement.

Donnacha Conroy was younger than Remus but he didn't really look it. His dark hair was already bordering on a salt-and-pepper styling and his wiry frame was slightly stooped from the weight of all the discrimination he had faced over the course of his twenty-three years as a werewolf. He too had been bit as a young child and he had been turned out by his fearful parents to live with a sympathetic uncle in Wales. He hadn't been lucky enough to attend school and rather looked up to Remus's education with awe and envy.

As the calls of war drifted around the country in backhanded whispers and murmurings in the wrong sorts of bars, Conroy made the decision to find Greyback's pack and join before he was hunted down. Not long after, he had met Remus and they became allies and friends of sorts.

As they sat there and discussed the various states of both allies and enemies in the pack, a silvery wolf trotted up to them. Remus sat up straighter and looked around the establishment at the other patrons. They didn't seem to notice the lupine Patronus. The wolf tipped its nose in Remus's direction and spoke in the voice of Nymphadora Tonks.

"Teddy wants to meet us at Hogsmeade. I'll meet you there. He sounds upset." The wolf then shook its silvery coat and vanished. Remus stared at the place where it once stood, probably looking as utterly confused as he felt. He was sure that Tonks's Patronus was that of a jackrabbit. He had seen it on multiple occasions, hopping around with an excited frenzy that so reflected her personality. The wolf, however, looked more austere and grown-up. It looked hardened and battle-ready.

"And you say that the developments you speak of don't have to do with family," Conroy said after a long silence. "Who is she? That was a nice Patronus there."

"She's…" Remus shut his mouth. There was no hiding the reason for the alteration of her Patronus. He was the cause of the change from jackrabbit to wolf. He shook his head and stood from the table. His firewhisky still sat, untouched, on the table.

"I have to go now," he said to Conroy, who only nodded and took another swig of Butterbeer.

Remus apparated from the Grim Haunt to the main street of Hogsmeade Village, just outside of the Three Broomsticks; looking around, he spotted Tonks almost immediately.

"Teddy sounded upset," she told him, echoing the message her Patronus had given him. "We should go in."

"Dora, your Patronus…" Remus said.

"It's pretty, isn't it? I really like it, anyway. Teddy has one like it as well." Remus opened his mouth, but Tonks cut him off by repeating, "We should go see him." Nodding up at the hill that led to the Shrieking Shack, she said, "This way."

Teddy stood by the rickety old fence, staring at the Shrieking Shack in the distance. The land in between looked wide and dead. He, like most everyone in his time, knew exactly why the Shrieking Shack had been built. There were no more rumors about the shack being haunted, but it was still a popular attraction for students and other visitors of Hogsmeade.

The passage that led from the Whomping Willow to the shack had been sealed before Teddy got to school, but that hadn't deterred him. One full moon in his second year he had snuck out and figured out a way to get past the enchantments. That night, he had stayed up lying on the dirty floor of the old Victorian house, counting claw marks and bite marks and paw prints and wondering what the Marauders had gotten up to in that very room.

"Ted," he heard and turned to see Tonks and Remus walking up the hill to stand beside him. Teddy reached into his cloak and made sure that the piece of paper was still safely in his pocket. They all stared at the shack together for a long moment.

"There's a memorial here in the future," Teddy said, "Two actually. One's a statue of a werewolf and the story of the Shrieking Shack and the famous Remus Lupin is carved beneath it. The second is in honor of Severus Snape and the sacrifices he made for Dumbledore and his side. It's weird without them here."

"So people don't think it's haunted?" Tonks asked. Teddy shook his head. Remus looked deep in thought, probably mulling over the implications of the word 'famous'.

"Like the Potter's house in Godric's Hollow, people sign their names and stuff on the fence. It's kind of nice…"

"That is nice," Remus said. He cleared his throat, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"You have a chocolate frog card, too," Teddy said, looking at Remus, "First ever werewolf to receive the Order of Merlin First Class- that's big." Remus's eyes widened.

"We're leaving at five o'clock today," Teddy continued. "I didn't really know what to do. I thought I might as well try to find you here and then I thought I might want to come see the shack."

"You're leaving today?" Teddy nodded. "When did you find out?"

"Dumbledore stopped by this morning. At least he gave us a bit of time. Last I saw before I left, he was playing a game of chess with Albus."

They stood on the hill for only a while longer before Tonks, putting a finger thoughtfully to her lips, declared that she just realized something and instructed Teddy and Remus to meet her at her flat. Remus looked at Teddy and Teddy looked at Remus, both rather bewildered, but Tonks disapparated and so they followed. Remus pointed out that she hadn't even told the other Aurors she was leaving, but Tonks brushed him off.

"There was something you said last night that I just remembered, Ted," Tonks said as they entered her flat. With the afternoon light streaming in the windows, the walls looked intensely lemon-yellow. Tonks strode right to her record collection and began to sift through it as Teddy and Remus stood together by the door, still not comprehending what she was doing.

"Aha!" she said and turned back to them waving a record around in her hand. "The Weird Sisters' eponymous record 'Life is a Blast-Ended Skrewt'," she declared happily. Teddy stared at her. "You said it wasn't with the rest of the records, didn't you?"

"Yeah but what does that…oh!" Teddy's eyes widened as he realized what she was getting at.

"Now you see. Here, it's yours," she said, handing him the album.

"Thanks," Teddy said and pulled her into a hug. He slipped the album into the pocket with the letter. Struck by a sudden idea, Teddy asked, "Can I use your loo, by the way?"

"Yeah, sure," Tonks said and told him where it was. Teddy slipped into her room and closed the door behind him, trying to be subtle about the whole thing. He looked around hurriedly for a good place to put the letter, finally spying a cardboard box at the end of the bed. It looked like it held men's clothes and a few toiletries- a razor and a toothbrush. Teddy slipped the letter into the bottom and hoped they would find it sometime in the future. He then slipped into the ensuite and ran the tap for a second before flushing the toilet and reemerging.

* * *

Teddy felt a bit lighter as they left the flat again to head to 12 Grimmauld Place. They turned on the spot simultaneously and appeared in front of the house. They checked to make sure the coast was clear, and then strode up to the door.

Everyone was in the drawing room talking. Moody was there and seemed to be discussing proper decorum with the use of time turners with James Potter, who seemed to be rather perturbed with the Auror's magical eye so close to his face. Molly was already nearing tears and Arthur was comforting her. Victoire was standing with Bill and they seemed to be talking animatedly with each other.

"Ah, welcome Remus, Nymphadora," Dumbledore greeted as they entered. He stood from the seat he had occupied earlier that morning. He shook hands with both of them. Kingsley emerged from behind Mrs. Weasley and greeted them all as well.

"How are you all?" he asked. Teddy stuffed his hands in his pockets. He was starting to feel a little claustrophobic.

"Fine," Teddy replied. He could feel all their eyes on him and immediately excused himself to see if Victoire might be persuaded away from her father. She caught his gaze as he passed by and she called him over. Bill frowned at him a little.

"Hello, Bill," Teddy said. He held out his hand.

"Victoire's told me that you are engaged now," he said, cutting right to the chase.

"That is correct," Teddy said. "I promise to always treat her well, Bill. I give you my word."

"Right," he said. "Right, well…Right…" Bill crossed his arms over his chest.

Teddy turned to Victoire. "Do you mind going through the announcement again?" He nodded his head to where his parents were still talking to Kingsley.

"Not at all," Victoire said. She threaded her fingers with his and together they walked up to Remus and Tonks. As they approached, Kingsley stepped aside. Teddy saw him shake hands with James, who looked very happy to be speaking with someone who had two normal eyes.

"Remus, Tonks, I think it's about time you got a proper introduction to my fiancée," Teddy said. Tonks's eyes flew from him to Victoire and back again.

"When did this happen?" she asked, her face brightening.

"Yesterday before dinner," Teddy said a bit bashfully.

"Edward Remus Lupin, you mean to tell me that you kept this a secret when you walked through my door right after the bloody thing happened?" Her voice was a bit loud and the others were starting to look over, interested and possibly listening in. Beside him, Victoire was laughing behind her hands. Teddy ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, yes," he said. "I dunno, I just thought it would be…" Tonks narrowed her eyes at him. "…Better…" he finished lamely. Tonks rolled her eyes and turned to Victoire.

"Congratulations," she said. The two women grinned at each other and embraced quickly. "I know you two will be very happy together. I may not have known you two for very long, but I do know that that one over there loves you very, very much."

"Thanks, Mrs. L- I mean, thanks Tonks," Victoire said. She blushed bright red.

Remus clapped a hand on Teddy's shoulder. "Congratulations, son," he said.

"Thanks, dad," Teddy replied, grinning.

"If we could have some quiet in here," Moody said, loud enough to be heard in the room, but not disruptive enough to wake Mrs. Black's portrait. Teddy stuffed his hands in his pockets again, knowing what was about to come. Dumbledore stood and everyone's attention turned to him.

"Here is the plan. Mr. Lupin, Miss Weasley, and the Potters will put on this amended time turner and they will be transported back to the future from which they came. Immediately afterwards, I will personally destroy all memories of or related to our time traveling visitors from your minds. Any and all notion of the fact that we were visited by time travelers is dangerous. Is that clear?"

All the Order members voiced their agreement somewhat sullenly. Mrs. Weasley sniffled a little as she nodded.

"Never fear, Molly," Arthur said. "We'll see them all eventually!"

"Of course, of course," Molly said, dabbing at her eyes. "I'm just being silly." She patted her husband on the arm and looked up at him, teary-eyed but smiling.

"Well, better get it over with, I suppose," James said. He looked at Teddy, who nodded at him. It would be better to get things over and done with quickly, like pulling a splinter out hard and fast.

"Say goodbye and thank you," Teddy told them, trying to sound less affected by the whole 'saying goodbye' thing than he really was.

He turned first to his mum who was looking rather teary-eyed as well. She pushed a strand of brown hair behind her ear and looked at him for a long time as if trying to memorize his face so completely it would never be obliviated from her mind.

"I love you," he whispered to her as she hugged him. They rocked back and forth, Teddy's chin resting on her head. His eyes were shut tightly.

"I love you, too," Tonks told him. "I am so bloody proud of you." As she finally pulled away, Tonks reached up and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. Teddy swung around to look at Remus.

"Don't be too mean to her," he tried to joke. Remus looked somber.

"No promises," he said. "After all, I won't remember all this, will I? It'll be just as it was, history going on as history does." Teddy frowned. "But apparently I do something right," Remus said with a little smile.

He pulled Teddy into a tight embrace as well and they tried their level best to be manly about it while declaring their love for each other.

"I really am glad that we had you," Remus said. "You are everything I ever wanted that I thought I could never have. And Dora is right; you've made us proud."

"Tell mum I love her," Tonks said. Teddy promised. "And tell her I said thank you for taking care of you."

It was so hard to walk away. It was the hardest thing Teddy had ever done. He was leaving his parents, never to see them again, after not knowing them for twenty-four years of his life. He felt fingers thread with his and looked over to see Victoire. She smiled at him reassuringly and led him to the center of the room where the Potters were already waiting. Albus was holding the time turner carefully in his hands.

"They don't trust me with anything," James said. Teddy couldn't help but smirk at him, hitting him upside the head.

"That's because you're utterly incompetent," he said.

"Ah, there's a smile from Moaning Myrtle," James said. He hit Teddy back.

"Moaning Myrtle is still at Hogwarts?" Bill asked.

"Oh year," said James, "and she's absolutely besotted with Albus, here."

The laughter that broke out as they all thought of the forever teenage, bespectacled and mopey bathroom ghost Myrtle batting her eyelashes over Albus sobered as the boy entrapped them all with the thin gold chain of the time turner. Victoire's hand squeezed his and she pressed a discreet kiss to his shoulder.

"Now just spin the hourglass, Mr. Potter, and you'll be off," Dumbledore instructed. "Give our regards to your parents. I bid you all a safe journey."

Albus glanced at the others for their approval before he final spun the hourglass. Teddy watched the first full rotation and his stomach clenched. He tore his eyes away from the device that had brought him so much and was about to take away everything as well to look one last time at his parents.

They stood arm in arm, comforting each other as the hourglass sped up and the time turner began to work. Tonks was pressed into Remus's chest, silent tears running down her cheeks. Still, she watched, and Remus did too as his hand stroke her back soothingly. Teddy saw his father nod at him once approvingly and then the room was spinning and Teddy had to finally close his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was in the same house, but a different group of people were watching them.

It was over and there was no going back.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the read. Drop me a review!

Next week you'll see a heart-to-heart between Teddy and Harry as well as plenty of Remus and Tonks.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and such. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 13

"James, Albus, Lily!" cried Ginny. She flew at her children, looking an absolute worried mess. Teddy smiled sadly at the picture. Pretty soon, Ginny would be far less celebratory and they would all be in a world of trouble.

Teddy looked around to see who else was there. Harry was joining in with his family's group hug. Hermione and Ron stood by, watching fondly as Rose and Hugo looked on, rather amazed. Fleur make a similar dash to Victoire and, in the process, Teddy found himself engulfed in the hug as well.

"I'm so glad you're all back safe and sound," she cried. She kissed Victoire on both cheeks before moving on to Teddy and giving him the same treatment. Teddy couldn't help but smile. Fleur's enthusiasm was infectious. He extricated himself from the two women as he spotted someone else he needed to see, though.

Andromeda Tonks had been lost in the background against all the Weasley red that was present in the room. Teddy looked at her with a shy smile and held out his arms. She bustled towards him and embraced him just like she always did.

"Hello, Grandmum," he said into her shoulder. She patted him on his back and rocked him soothingly, just as Tonks had done only minutes before. Well, it was minutes by Teddy's reckoning, but it was twenty-six years ago that his mother hugged him.

She pulled away and asked him, "Did you meet them?" Teddy nodded and he set his jaw. He didn't need to start crying again, especially in front of his grandmum. After all, she missed them too. She had lost a daughter that day- her only child.

"And what did you think?" Teddy hesitated and thought for a long while, trying to sum up all the feelings that were roiling in his chest into a few words.

"I'm very proud of them," Teddy decided. His grandmum pulled him into another hug and he could tell that she was fighting back tears. He would tell her soon. One day, they would sit down and he would tell her all the things they said and what they did together. But for now, he just took comfort in that fact that Andromeda Tonks was still mourning, and he was allowed to too.

Harry approached and clapped Teddy on the shoulder. "Ted," he said. He didn't need to say anything else. Teddy hugged him tightly.

"I did what you told me to," he said.

"Are you alright, now that you're back?" Harry looked at him, seriously worried. Teddy nodded.

"Maybe not right now," he said. "But I will be. I'd rather have the memories with them than none at all. And, anyway, it's not like I'm not without a family here." Harry grinned at his godson.

"Too right you are," he said. "You have an extraordinarily large family. And that will never change."

* * *

As the time travelers disappeared before their eyes, Tonks held onto Remus tightly. She grasped fistfuls of his robes as she shed silent tears. She was too upset to be embarrassed by her gross display of emotion. She didn't want Teddy to go; especially since she knew what was to come next.

Remus held her tightly against him, murmuring comforting nonsense in her ear that she didn't believe and she doubted that he believed either. Meanwhile, Moody and Dumbledore were attempting to explain the procedure that would be undertaken in order to wipe their memories of the children entirely.

_In order to rob us of those memories_, Tonks thought bitterly. To Remus, she murmured, "I don't want to forget." He squeezed her against him tightly and they rocked together back and forth.

"I don't either," he whispered back.

"Nymphadora, Remus- you might want to move into separate rooms. When you wake up, you will no longer be on such good terms," Moody suggested. His magical eye flickered determinedly away from their intimate embrace. Tonks could feel Remus nod in agreement. No matter how much she wished to stay by his side, Tonks knew that it was the right thing to do. Remus pressed a kiss to the top of her head and began to pull away.

"One day I'll get it right," Remus murmured to her, the shadow of a smile on his lips.

"You mean that one day you'll get your head out of your arse and marry me," Tonks replied cheekily. She wiped the errant moisture from her eyes and stepped further away from him. "And I can't wait," she whispered to him before she turned and left the room.

Tonks wanted to give him a proper goodbye, but she knew that she probably wouldn't remember it anyway. She wondered if she would remember any of the contact they'd had and what she'd think of it if she did. She decided that perhaps it would be better to forget it all. Maybe that would cause less pain.

Moody met her in the dining room minutes later. His wand was already out and he looked solemn.

"Sit down," he told her in the gentlest tone she'd ever heard him use. Surprised, Tonks did as she was told. Moody pulled out the chair next to hers and lowered himself jerkily into it. He faced her; both eyes trained on her face in a way that made Tonks feel rather naked and vulnerable.

"You won't remember anything from the past few days when you wake up," Moody warned her. "You've had too much contact with…Teddy…to leave much of anything to spare. Instead, you'll have vague recollections of an average workweek." Tonks nodded, biting her lip. She didn't want to cry in front of Mad-Eye Moody. He had only ever seen her in training or during Order missions. She was supposed to be the strong one. She was supposed to be his protégée.

"Do you want another moment?" Moody asked, looking a little nervous with her tears. Tonks shook her head.

"I want all the moments," she replied. "Please, can you skip me? I want to remember him. He's my son, Moody, my son!" Moody sat further back, looking extremely uncomfortable. Tentatively, he reached out a hand and placed it on Tonks's shoulder.

"You'll see him soon enough," he said in an attempt at being comforting. Tonks shook her head almost violently.

"You don't know what I do," she retorted.

"And neither will you in a minute," Moody said. "Come on, girl. You've got to pull yourself together." Tonks straightened at his sudden return to his normal harsh self. "You won't remember any of it, so you won't know what you've lost."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Tonks said. Moody let out a sigh like a growl and raised his wand.

"Enough talk, Nymphadora. Your memory is being obliviated just as planned and there's no amount of sobbing that will make me change my mind." Tonks nodded in defeat and looked away from Moody, preparing herself for the impact of the spell.

She closed her eyes, trying to picture each memory she had of Teddy Lupin in turn. She picture every detail of his face, the way his eyes looked so much like Remus's, the way his laugh sounded so much like his, the way he looked at Victoire or joked with James. She remembered the dinner they all had together and his patronus and hers bounding off together to ward off the dementors.

And then it was all gone and Tonks's head fell forward. When she awoke, she saw a flash of turquoise, which she didn't quite understand, and then went about her day. The only thing was she felt a little off, as if she had forgotten something very important. It was on the tip of her tongue and yet it evaded her until eventually she simply forgot.

* * *

Teddy sat himself on one of the chairs in the living room, watching the commotion around him without really seeing it. He was trying to relive his time in 1996 to make sure that he could remember it and everything that his parents had said. His chest ached with the loss of them, a pain more real and pressing than the dull numbness of not knowing them at all, but the feeling was also joined by the most intense happiness.

The corner of Teddy's lips upturned and he smiled to himself, knowing that he was so very lucky.

"I think I know how you feel," Harry said that night as he and Teddy sat together in the library. Everyone else had either gone to bed or was simply retired to their rooms, leaving the whole house quiet. "When I was first taught to the Patronus Charm- by your father, of course- I had a hard time coming up with a memory that was suitably happy. Eventually, I found that the memory that made me happy was something that I think I must've imagined for myself. It was simply of me and my parents sitting down and talking, and I was filled with this intense sadness at the thought that I could never actually have that, but also such pure happiness."

Teddy nodded and sat back in the armchair. Harry sat adjacent to him. He was once upon a time in a similar position with his own father.

For as long as Teddy could remember, he and Harry had always had talks like this one. When Teddy was little, they would sit up late in there and he would request stories about his parents and Harry would apologize for not knowing many. And then he would ask about his own parents and Sirius too.

"Did you see any of us?" Harry asked. Teddy laughed at him.

"What, are you worried that I'd seen you in your embarrassing teenage years? Too many pimples around the famous scar?" he teased. Harry glared at him in mock anger. "Nah, we didn't go anywhere near the castle. I did wander around Hogsmeade with Tonks, though." Teddy thought a moment before he added, "And I had an encounter with dear Bellatrix Lestrange."

Harry sat forward in his seat. "You didn't do anything, did you?" Teddy shook his head and let out a cynical laugh.

"Not that I didn't try," he said. He shook his head. "I couldn't even breach her defenses when it was me and Remus against her. Maybe that was the universe telling me not to mess around, though," Teddy reasoned. "I just wanted a bit of revenge, though."

"Oh yeah," Harry replied knowingly. Teddy knew that he must share his sentiments for Bellatrix. After all, she had robbed Harry of his godfather after only a couple years of knowing him.

Teddy spent a little longer with Harry before he finally called it a night. He wanted to talk to his grandmother before it got too late. If anyone deserved to know what had happened back in 1996, it was her. And he knew that she was probably anxious to know even the littlest detail about her late daughter and son-in-law.

Teddy apparated from the front stoop of Grimmauld Place to the end of the garden path at his childhood home. He rapped his knuckles on the front door and opened it without waiting for her to answer it. As he stepped inside, he caught sight of her drinking a cup of tea on the love seat in the living room, obviously waiting for him.

"Hello," he greeted, bending down to give her a gentle hug. He sat down next to her. With a lazy flick of her wand, Andromeda produced a cup of tea for Teddy as well. He sipped it appreciatively in silence. Andromeda was looking at him intently, clearly waiting for him to begin his story. And so that was what Teddy did.

He began with James and the birthday prank, continuing on to the steps he took to (illegally) obtain a time turner and follow them.

"I know it wasn't the most thought-out plan," he said before his grandmum could interject with her admonitions. "But I wasn't really thinking clearly about that. I suppose I wanted to at least give myself a chance to see them…or perhaps do something in order to save them." Andromeda put a comforting hand on his and he smiled at her sadly before continuing again.

He explained how Tonks seemed very depressed and how Remus looked so careworn and broken. He told how they each discovered what was to happen to them in the future. Andromeda was beginning to look a little teary, so Teddy quickly moved on to how they seemed to grow closer with him there and how they had dinner together as a family. He neglected to mention Bellatrix Lestrange, as the name of any Black family member besides Sirius was akin to a curse word in their home.

"She told me to tell you that she loves you," Teddy said. Andromeda covered her mouth with a hand and her dark eyes grew bright with moisture. "She also said to tell you thank you for taking care of me. And I'd like to say the same."

Andromeda put her tea cup down on the table and pulled Teddy into a tight hug. She didn't speak for a long moment, but only held him close to her.

"You're a good boy, Teddy," she said. "And you've grown up into a good man."

* * *

_"__I was under the impression that she would be spending Christmas alone." _

Remus took a deep breath and turned from the door that was right in front of him. He wondered what exactly he was doing there. Surely this would be murder. Surely he would be chased away with a dozen hexes. Standing there on the quiet landing, he could hear the faintest strains of 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas' emanating from the room across the hall. He could hear nothing from Dora's flat.

_You can't stand here forever_, he told himself and finally raised his hand to knock. He couldn't believe that Molly had actually succeeded in getting him to actually visit Tonks. She could be a very persuasive and rather frightening woman when she wanted to be- the effects of raising six boys, he supposed. He decided that it was the look she gave him along with that accusatory tone. And then, he had to admit, there was that little part of him that simply really wanted an excuse to see her. They hadn't spoken since early October.

He rapped his knuckles on the old door with its chipped paint three times and waited. Footsteps like an angry storm could be heard before the lock was jostled and the door was pulled open.

"What do you- oh," Tonks said. Remus looked at her and ran a hand nervously through his greying hair. He couldn't lie; she didn't look too good at all. Her hair was mouse brown and lanky. Her complexion was pale and her face was thin. She didn't look good at all. Remus's heart clenched with worry. "Oh, it's you." Her voice was icy.

"Happy Christmas, Dora," Remus murmured to her. She narrowed her eyes at him and seemed to contemplate closing the door. Remus stepped forward to block the door's path with his foot. He'd already made it this far. He didn't want to be turned away so quickly.

"Why are you here?" Tonks asked, not bothering to acknowledge his seasonal greeting. She glared at him.

"I…Well, Molly said…I mean…" Remus didn't know what to tell her exactly. Her gaze grew even more hostile, if that was even possible, and he wanted nothing more than to disappear. She had never looked at him quite like that before.

"I wanted to see you," he finally decided.

"Well, you've seen me," Tonks shot back. "And I'm rather a sight, aren't I? Did Molly guilt you into coming?" She nodded at his obviously sheepish expression. "Well that was a nice attempt from her- I'll give her that- but my Christmas has been suitably horrid already and I don't need you to ruin it further."

Remus took an instinctive step back upon hearing her words. They sliced right through him like a thousand knives.

"I'm sorry," he said. He tried to get his brain to work through the shock and come up with something better to say, but it was no use. He felt like he had been hit over the head with a beater's bat. He suddenly remembered the package in his pocket and pulled it out.

"Maybe I should…Yes, I'll just go then. I'm sorry to have bothered you." Tonks looked a little crestfallen at that, but quickly put together her angry face again. Remus held out the package to her. "It's nothing much, but I didn't want to not get you anything."

Tonks accepted the package tentatively and ran her fingers over the careful wrapping. She looked up at him before muttering "wait here" and hurrying back inside her flat. Remus held the door open but did not step inside. He didn't want to breach her space any more than he was already.

She returned after mere seconds had passed with a poorly wrapped lump of a gift and held it out to him looking mildly embarrassed.

"Thank you," he said as he accepted the gift. She shrugged in return. "Maybe we can-"

"You can't keep doing this to me, Remus," Tonks blurted out. He looked at her in confusion. "We haven't spoken a word to each other for months. The last thing you said to me is that I'd better find someone else. And then you go and do this. And, sure, maybe I had something for you on the off chance you'd show but…You can't keep pushing me away and then giving me hope again. Tell me you've been wrong about us or…" She shook her head, lost for words. "I just can't do only friendship and I can't hear your stupid excuses."

Remus nodded and stared resolutely at Tonks's present to him. "I suppose I shouldn't ask how you've been then."

"No, you shouldn't," Tonks replied. "You wouldn't like the answer."

Remus knew that was more than true. He couldn't tell her how much he wished that things were different. She, of all people, deserved to be surrounded by love and family and friends on Christmas and yet there she was, looking as though she'd had her very heart ripped out. Remus knew that it was he who had done the ripping.

It wasn't his fault really, he told himself. After all, he was a werewolf. How could Tonks ever expect a relationship to work out between them? But all that circled in his head were empty words and hollow excuses that Tonks had beaten down time and time again.

Remus hated that he was turning Tonks into this person that he did not know, but he knew that he couldn't go back on his words and give in to his desires. He was doing this to keep her safe. He was doing this to protect her from him and the dangers of even being seen with him. If only she could see things his way.

"Well, happy Christmas anyway, Dora," Remus said. She nodded and began to close the door, leaving him feeling rather numb and confused on the landing.

Remus returned to the Burrow, thankful that everyone was already beginning to retire and he was able to slip up to the guest room he was staying in without be scrutinized by Molly's severe gaze. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled apart the sad wrapping job Tonks had done and examined his gift. A copy of 'Hideous Half-Breeds: Werewolves' stared back at him. Rather confused, Remus opened the book.

'Hideous Half-Breeds', as Remus already knew, was about as good a read as the title was. James and Sirius had spent many nights laughing over the horridly inaccurate facts and grossly exaggerated ferocity of werewolves while Remus sat on his own bed, trying to get one assignment done or another. He had flipped to somewhere in the middle- to a chapter on an inaccurate assessment of a werewolf's bloodlust while in human form and was surprised to see both pages marked with red ink. The word 'BULLSHIT' was printed in large letters in Tonks's handwriting on every single page.

Remus couldn't help but feel a little bit impressed with her determination.

* * *

Tonks shut the door behind her and rested her back against it, fighting the tears that threatened to spill over. She took a couple calming breaths before she returned to her couch where she had been curled up by the fire drinking and contemplating until he had interrupted her.

His gift, wrapped with precision so characteristic of him, was resting on the coffee table. She tucked herself under her blankets again before she began to open it. Unlike with other gifts, which she would've ripped open ruthlessly, she found the seams in the paper and pulled them apart delicately, with much the same careful attention that he must've taken to wrap it.

She discarded the paper on the card table and stared at the box in her hands. It looked old and rather like the sort for jewelry. She sighed and opened it, only to shut it again tightly. There was a little card on the bottom which she read quickly.

"What a git," she said to herself, and tossed the box on the coffee table with the paper. She turned away from the box that contained the beautiful silver necklace and the card that wished her well and told her that it had once belonged to his mother.

"He's such a git."

* * *

A/N: More Remus and Tonks for the next two chapters before we revisit Teddy for the finale.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So my play just ended. I'm super sad. Like seriously there were so many tears yesterday, which was the last show and also the most important. We got to meet the playwright which was super cool. He was really gracious and loved the changes we'd made to the script (this was only the second time his show had been performed).

Anyway, I'm like "what do I do now?" But another show will start up soon. Better find another audition piece!

So here's the chapter. Technically the story could move on fine without this but when I fist got the inspiration to write this, this was the first thing I wrote and I didn't want to throw it out. So here you go!

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Chapter 14

"Nymphadora, we really need to talk about this."

Tonks ignored him. What more was there to talk about? What was there to say that hadn't already been said ad nauseam over the course of the past year in so many arguments that occurred as their lives intersected before sending them on their separate ways? She threw the door open and strode quickly into her flat, knowing that he was sure to follow her. If he was going to subject her to another monologue about the trials and tribulations faced by those who fraternized with werewolves, she was at least going to treat herself to a drink.

Tonks threw a couple of spells at the tea kettle which sat on its usual place at the stove and searched her drink cupboard for the firewhisky. She was getting a little better with the household stuff since living in Hogsmeade with a couple Aurors even more useless than herself.

"Nymphadora-"

"Don't call me that, Remus. If you want me to listen to you so damn bad, at least use a name I don't hate." She stood up with the half-empty bottle as the kettle whistled. Reaching to the cabinet above her head, she pulled down a glass and a tea cup.

"Fine then, Dora, er, Tonks, but I am serious about talking about this. You cannot get it into your head that things can just change between us because of what happened to Bill. It's not the same thing." Trying not to roll her eyes, Tonks turned around and presented Remus with a steaming cup of tea.

"Oh," he said, accepting it gingerly. He took a small sip and grimaced. "You spiked it."

"Yeah, well, you need to loosen up," Tonks replied. She took the bottle by the neck in one hand with her glass in the other and arranged herself on her lumpy green sofa. Remus and his cup of tea-with-whisky sat themselves rather more elegantly on the chair across the way. He took another sip as Tonks drained half her glass in one go. Staring at the amber liquid swirling around and around, she wondered exactly how horrible and pathetic she looked.

Remus was staring at her. His green eyes were fixed upon her from above the edge of the tea cup as he took another sip. Tonks was at least pleased that he wasn't saying anything. His eyes were shadowed with dark rings. His robes, which normally looked very poor indeed, seemed to hang off his frame. Tonks furrowed her brow as she looked at him, wondering if it was possible to love and hate someone so passionately at the same time.

After the previous events of the night, Tonks felt much how Remus looked and, due to her damned inability to morph (damn Remus to hell), she thought she must look rather similar to the werewolf. Tonks thought that she had never felt to tired and numb, which was saying something if one were to consider her year so far. She wondered how Remus even had the strength to fight with her tonight. She certainly was losing the strength to do battle.

"Maybe I should have stayed with Harry. He'll be going through a lot right now," Remus murmured. Tonks realized with a jolt that they had left Hogwarts without even thinking of the boy who had just witnessed the death of Albus Dumbledore.

Tonks was still rather shocked about the whole thing. She, like most everyone else, had subconsciously thought of the old Headmaster as an invincible being. His death was an inconceivable event and she was uncertain how any of them would continue on without him. The Order was like a child left alone in the dark. They would have to really rally themselves and push on even harder to have any hope of defeating you-know-who.

"He'll be surrounded by the Weasleys," Tonks said. "They won't let him feel alone." Remus nodded, but Tonks could tell he was unconvinced. He took another sip of tea, but still seemed to shiver. Tonks lit the fireplace with a wordless spell. It was a weak fire- she was too distracted to do much better- but it began to grow. Warmth filled the room as the firewhisky began to warm Tonks from the inside out.

"Are you cold? Do you want a blanket?" Tonks got up. Remus had worried her when the found out about Dumbledore's death. She had never seen him fall apart in public. She had hardly ever seen him display such intense sadness in private either. As that was the case, Tonks had cultivated an image of him in which he was irrevocably stoic and unyielding- a constant force of reason and calm. She knew that Remus had always been exceptionally loyal to Dumbledore, but she was caught off guard by his obviously intense love for the man.

"I'm not sure what I have that's edible since I've been living in Hogsmeade, but I'm sure there'll be something."

"No, no, I'm fine," Remus said. "You should sit down…Tonks." The sound of her last name seemed to roll unnaturally from his tongue. And it was unnatural after so many months of him refusing to use it in lieu of her horrible first name. Tonks had actually begun to like the sound of it when he said it. And she liked hearing him call her 'Dora' even more. But it was his damn fault that the privilege was taken away.

She obeyed him with a sigh and wondered vaguely if she should drown out everything with alcohol now or wait until he became too insufferable to handle.

"Do you really want to go through this tonight?" she asked.

"We have to," Remus said sternly. Tonks could see him clearly in her mind's eye seated at the large professor's desk in the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, fingers steepled in front of him with his chin perched on top, staring down a student who had turned in an absurd excuse for an essay.

"You know where I stand already, Remus," Tonks said. "You've heard what Molly and Arthur and McGonagall think of everything. Please, astound me with whatever other reason you've concocted for us not to be together because I think I've got the upper hand her now." She raised an eyebrow, daring him to challenge her.

"We're in the middle of a war. This isn't the time to get distracted by things like this. You'll regret spending so much time with-"

"Stop, stop, stop," Tonks interrupted. "For someone who is so bloody smart, you really are an idiot." Remus looked rather taken aback, but Tonks was in no mood to stop herself because of his delicate feelings. She finished off her firewhisky and began to pour herself another glass.

"Yes, we are at war. That means either or the both of us could die at any moment."

"Please don't say that," Remus murmured almost too softly to hear. "Not when…"

"It's true," Tonks continued. "And you seem to be all about telling me the ugly truths of being involved with you. And anyway, like we've just witnessed tonight, no one is invincible. Death does not discriminate." She raised her glass to the mention of Dumbledore and took a long drink. With every sip, the firewhisky burned less.

"Now, with that in mind, I would like to live my life to the fullest. Why put anything off with silly excuses only to regret what could've been if one of us is gone?" She stared at Remus until he looked thoroughly uncomfortable.

"Do you mind passing the firewhisky?" Tonks handed him the bottle and watched as he poured a generous measure into his cup. Tonks smirked and wondered if he even had any tea left in there as he began drink.

"I don't ever want you to experience what I have to go through," he said. Tonks opened her mouth to unleash a retort, but Remus held up a hand and continued with his voice still as level and calm as ever. "You know as well as I that, now more than ever, it is dangerous to be seen with me. The Ministry is not taking kindly to werewolves. You might lose your job. You would most definitely become a social outcast."

"From a shit society," Tonks muttered, angry. "I've told you that I don't care about all that! Look, I'll probably lose my job soon, anyway, as the Ministry goes under further. I'm in love with you." Remus's eyes widened. "And that means I want to help see you through all of this. I don't care what people will think of me!"

"But I cannot support you. I don't have anything to offer."

"Oh, shut up, Remus. I'm not looking for a bloody dowry." Remus opened his mouth to say something, but shut it again as Tonks glared at him.

"I know what you're going to say," Tonks said. She held up a hand to silence him and plowed onwards. "Whatever it is, it's utter rubbish. I can take care of myself and I don't need you trying to keep me safe- especially when the thing you're trying to protect me from is you. Tell me you don't love me and I'll stop bothering you, but I deserve more than someone to kiss me and then tell me all the reason why we wouldn't work. And I deserve nothing less than the truth. Think about it."

She left the room to search out some sort of sustenance from the kitchen, allowing him to think things over.

Amazingly enough, the search for food was unable to keep her mind off of the man in the living room currently deciding whether or not to utterly shatter her already bruised and battered heart. Tonks knew that he loved her. She could see it in his eyes and hear it in the way he said her name. The only thing was, she was unsure of whether he would try to do what he thought was the noble, sacrificial thing, as usual.

One container of old casserole, probably weeks old- yup, with a smell like that, Tonks wouldn't have been surprised if it had grown legs. One black banana in the fruit basket- Tonks used her wand to levitate it to the trash can. In the bottom cupboard, behind some nearly empty carton of garbage bags and an old flask of some sort of potion (Pepper Up, perhaps?), she finally has success.

"Thank Merlin for Muggles and their lazy cooking," Tonks said to herself. She grabbed her prizes and produced a medium sized pot- part of a set that was a flat-warming gift from her mother, which had hardly seen use. She emptied the contents of the can into the pot and turned on the stove.

After monitoring them for any sign of an imminent explosion, Tonks poked her head out of the entrance to the kitchen. She could see Remus sitting there staring off into space.

"How do you feel about soup for dinner?" Tonks asked. Remus jolted and looked at her. "I'm starving and I'd guess that you are too."

"I thought you couldn't cook," he said. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I can't, thanks for reminding me," she replied. "Luckily my dad introduced me to the Muggle way of things and they have handy cans of whatever kind of soup you want. All you have to do is heat them over the stove- which I am quite capable of, thank you very much- and voila, it's ready to eat!"

"Alright," he said, and from the tone of his voice, Tonks couldn't tell whether he was hesitant because of the prospect of canned soup or her declaration as to the ease of making it.

"Good, well, it's beef stew- nothing like Molly's, I'd guess, but it'll have to do." She returned back to the kitchen to see if she could conjure up something else from the sad selection in her cupboards, and she soon heard light footsteps behind her.

"Can I help?" Remus asked. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

_Give in already and love me_, Tonks thought. She shook her head.

"Are you still very angry with me?" he asked quietly as Tonks charmed a wooden spoon to stir the stew. It plunged itself into the pot and started jerking around wildly and was starting to cause a real mess.

"Oh bugger," Tonks said. But Remus pulled out his wand and stilled the spoon's frantic movements, calming it to stir nice and gently.

"The firewhisky is kicking in so I'm a bit lightheaded, and effectively that's the same thing as not being angry. Anyway, it would take too much energy to keep being icy to you. It's just not worth it." She wondered why he was so concerned about it if he supposedly didn't love her. Remus pulled down bowls and fished around the clutter of the silverware drawer for suitable spoons. "But don't think you're off the hook," Tonks added as a warning.

"Oh, never," Remus replied with the hint of a smile. There weren't any napkins to be found anywhere, so he folded up a couple paper towels and set them out with the bowls.

They picnicked by the fire together with the bowls resting on their laps and their glasses- Remus was persuaded to have some more firewhisky- perched on the coffee table. Remus rested against the armchair as Tonks leaned against the couch across from him.

"To Campbell and their Muggle soups," Tonks said, raising her glass.

They began to eat in something akin to the companionable silence that they had shared once upon a time, back when Sirius was alive and Remus had less cause to be frightened of himself. It was a welcome change from the more recent silences they experienced in the past year- harsh and angry and guilt-ridden, interrupted only by pleas and feeble excuses. Tonks didn't want to break it by asking what Remus thought of her ultimatum. So she didn't.

"It's very late," Remus said as they washed up.

Tonks stood back and watched as he flicked his wand at the various dirty dishes. They were properly soaked and scrubbed and dried with a precision Tonks could never have with those sorts of spells.

"It's been 'very late' for hours. I think it's 'very early' now." The clock above the sink read almost four thirty in the morning. Tonks wouldn't be surprised if they spent the whole night together. "I'm not going into work tomorrow even if they offer me a bonus," she muttered.

"Maybe I should-"

Tonks gave him a look. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stay." She softened her expression. Good, he was learning.

"Have you thought about what I said?" Tonks finally asked, knowing she'd have to bring it all back up sometime. Remus nodded slowly, staring at his feet. When he finally did look up, his eyes were soft and he seemed rather nervous.

"Tonks- Nymphadora- I realize that I haven't given merit to your own feelings. I know you don't deserve me to lie to you, as much as I want to save you from all of this." Tonks frowned, but Remus stepped forward and caught her hands with his. "If this is what you want," he murmured to her, "I suppose I cannot deny you." Tonks caught herself before she could gasp.

"So this means no beating yourself up about this and actually talking to me about how you feel, right?" she said. Remus nodded, looking bashful. Tonks let out a sigh. "Wow, we're actually doing this," she whispered, mostly to herself, before she couldn't help herself any longer and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Remus took a step back upon impact, but soon wrapped his arms around her as well, crushing her against him in the best way while Tonks buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent.

"You've been a bloody bastard, Remus Lupin," she murmured. He ran his fingers through her hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I've been worried sick about you."

"I know," he said, "but I'm willing to make it up to you."

Tonks pulled back to look at him. His eyes shone brightly and she watched as their gaze settled on her lips. He lowered his head ever so slowly and captured her lips with his. It was a soft, lingering kiss that made her want to melt into him and simply disappear. She stood on her tiptoes to get closer to him, running her hands up to let her fingers grasp his hair, her nails scratching his scalp. He made a deep noise of pleasure and ran his hands down to her hips, pulling them closer to his as he deepened the kiss.

With her head already buzzing with the liberal amount of firewhisky she had consumed, Tonks wasn't surprised to feel her legs start to give out. She stumbled against him and he caught all her weight in his arms. The pair of them stumbled the short distance backwards to Tonks's bedroom, still entwined tightly with one another. Tonks pulled them both down onto her bed and they parted for a mere second while she and Remus clambered into more comfortable positions beside each other.

"I missed you so much," Remus murmured to her.

Remus pulled her towards him again, crashing his lips to hers, his hands sliding further and further down. Tonks nearly purred at the sensation. She had missed his touch so very much. She let out a deep sigh as Remus moved the attentions of his lips in a path down Tonks's neck. She fell back against the soft pillows and sank in, feeling Remus's warm weight on top of her. He stroked her side gently, kissing her collarbone.

Tonks let her eyes fall shut and completely relaxed, reveling in Remus's light touches- something she hadn't had the pleasure of feeling in so long. She couldn't, however, stop a yawn from escaping her. She could feel Remus grinning against the skin of her shoulder.

"If I'd known I would bore you this much, I would've left," he murmured to her. Tonks yawned again.

"I'm sorry," she said. Her hand rubbed Remus's arm sleepily. "It's just that we've had such a long day and then I felt these pillows and you were so nice and warm and I'm absolutely knackered." Remus kissed her on the forehead.

"Well you need some sleep- Merlin knows we all do."

"There's a box in the closet," Tonks said, "of some stuff you left here." Remus raised an eyebrow and she swatted at him. "It isn't that bad," she said, though that was a lie and she knew it. Her closet was like something out of a horror movie targeted at neat freaks and those who had a phobia of ripped jeans and bright colors. "Anyway, you might want to get it out. I think there're your toothbrush and a pair of pajamas."

Remus got up from the bed and, rather than wading through the mass of junk that was threatening to spill out of the confines of the doors, did a quick summoning charm. A pile of clothes shifted and shuddered like something possessed before the cardboard box burst free and landed at Remus's feet.

Tonks heard him sift through the things for a few minutes before he stilled and was quiet. She didn't think much of it and instead closed her eyes, waiting for him to come back to bed. She was a bit put out by her body's tiredness. After everything, she had wanted to badly to continue and see exactly how far he was willing to go. She was eager to feel him like that again and see him come undone.

"Nymphadora, there's a letter in here that's addressed to us," Remus said. Tonks groaned.

"We'll deal with it in the morning," she said.

"It is morning." Tonks could hear the smile in his voice. She scowled.

"Get changed and come back to bed," she ordered.

Remus stood, a bundle of striped clothes in his hands, and she watched as he stood by the end of the bed and unbuttoned his shirt. She hummed with appreciation of the show as the garment came off and he smiled at her cheekily and turned around. Tonks was afforded a nice look at his back, lean but well-built and covered with the ghosts of scars from childhood transformations when he turned on himself in wolfish anger and frustration.

He slipped on the t-shirt from the box and began to work on his trousers. As he folded them up, clad only in the t-shirt and his boxers, Tonks suggested slyly, "Maybe you could continue and give us a bit of a show?"

Remus crawled up the bed to her, leaving the pajama pants on the floor but leaving his boxers on as well. He lowered himself over Tonks and kissed her deeply.

"I thought you were sleepy," he said.

"Yes, well…" she trailed off. Remus kissed her again with a chuckle.

They settled down together in Tonks's bed, perfectly content in each other's arms. The letter was left in the box…forgotten.

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A/N: So there you go! Drop me a review. Next chapter is a continuation of Chapter 1. We're about to come full circle.


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